China's State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) recently announced the ten most important archaeological finds in 1999, including a largest antique brewery and the oldest cookbook.
The annual ten great finds are: The Neolithic ruins near Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province; the Wunushan city remains in Liaoning Province; the Wanfabozi ruins in Tonghua, Jilin Province; the city ruins of the Shang Dynasty (B.C. 16 c - B.C. 11 c) in Jiaozuo, Henan Province; the Han (B.C. 206 - A.D. 220) tomb in Yuanling, Hunan Province; the Yangfutou tombs in Kunming, Yunnan Province; the Yuhong Tomb of the Sui Dynasty (581 - 618) in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province; the Great Canal ruins of the Sui and Tang (618 - 907) dynasties in Huaibei, Anhui Province; the capital of the Yuan Dynasty (1271 - 1368) in Zhangbei, Hebei Province; and the brewery ruins in Chengdu, Sichuan Province.
Scholars from the SACH, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing University, the Museum of Chinese History, and the Palace Museum selected these sites from among a list of more than 400 finds in 1999.
Xu Pingfang, director-general of the China Archaeology Society, said that all ten are extremely important and have great historic and academic value.
The SACH has made this annual selection since 1991.
(Shanghai Daily)