On March 30, according to the latest archaeological results released by the Shanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology, archaeologists discovered a nine-sided wooden well in Yangquan City, Shanxi Province, which is relatively large in scale and well preserved. According to the dating data of wooden components, Comprehensively judge its masonry and use age from the end of the Warring States Period to the early Western Han Dynasty.

This ancient well is located on the east side of Hongcheng North Road, Yangquan City, Shanxi Province, 570 meters north of the northern wall of the ancient city of Pingping Nao. In November 2019, it was discovered during the renovation and construction of a shanty town. After applying for the rescue excavation project to the State Administration of Cultural Relics, the Shanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology and Yangquan Cultural Relics Management Center officially launched a joint archaeological excavation.

Zheng Haiwei, deputy director of the Yangquan Cultural Relics Management Center, said that the upper structure of the ancient well is no longer in existence. They adopted the method of excavation by digging in half anatomical sections to clarify the structure of the ancient well and the layers in the well. This well is a flat nine-sided wooden support structure with a depth of 9 meters and an inner diameter of 4.5 meters. The cypress wood of the original mortise and tenon structure at both ends of the shaft wall is overlapped to form a closed nine-sided shape and built layer by layer. In order to enhance the stability, the tenon direction is changed layer by layer during the building process. There are currently 38 layers. Zheng Haiwei said that according to the analysis on site, the masonry technology of this well is top-down sectioned masonry: that is, dig down to a certain depth, carry out support, and then dig down and support again. A large number of slab shingles and wooden components were unearthed in the well. It is speculated that there were buildings such as well fences and pavilions above the well at that time. The masonry structure of the well fence can be restored after assembly experiments.

The structure of the nine-sided shape is quite peculiar, and the masonry technology is exquisite. The notches and tongues and tongues in the wooden components are the existing relatively complete early tenon and tenon structures. Its discovery is important to the ancient well masonry technology and early wooden construction The research and the supplement of historical materials of the ancient city of Ping Nao and the Warring States Period are of great significance. Editor/He Yuting