By Dong Na

　　Recently, the site of Jingtoushan launched the second phase of archaeological excavations.

　　The site of Jingtoushan was discovered in 2013, and the first phase of archaeological excavations was conducted from 2019 to 2020, yielding significant results that broke through the 7,000-year historical boundary of the Hemudu culture and pushed Ningbo's humanistic history forward by more than 1,000 years further ago. The excavation of a large number of relics of marine elements closely related to human production and life in the coastal environment has made the site of Jingtoushan another prehistoric cultural centerpoint in Zhejiang, and was named one of the "Top 10 New Archaeological Discoveries of 2020 and Six Important Archaeological Discoveries of China", and included in the "Archaeology China" project. The excavations have achieved significant academic value and social impact in the fields of Hemudu culture research, the exploration of the origins of China's maritime culture, and the changes in the marine environment of the world.

　　The main objective of the second phase of excavation is to search for the houses and associated living remains of the ancient coastal settlement and to explore the on-site conservation and long-term display of the excavated remains. A total of 1,000 square metres of pit work has been carried out by the crew since late 2021. This is the first time in the history of coastal archaeology in China that such a large-scale field work and mode of heritage conservation has been undertaken.

　　Similarly structured pits are rarely seen in Chinese inland archaeology, which is dictated by the particular environment in which the Jingtoushan site is buried. Based on the experience of the Phase I excavations, the remains of the Jingtoushan site are 7 to 10 meters deep below the surface and are surrounded by marine deposits, which could easily cause collapse without this structural enclosure.

　　The Phase II pit is located in the north-west corner of Phase I, near the slope of the hill, as it is close to the foot of the hill and has the potential for the discovery of an architecture of a dry-pen village site. To the northeast of the pit, depending on the results of the drilling, a small dock on the edge of the village may also be found.

　　Chief Adviser: Zhou Fangzhou

　　Proofreader: Gou Wen