Study on the origin of the new archaeological deposits from the East Zhou dynasty excavated from the Yanyingshan site in Tonglvshan, China

In the 1970s, archaeologists discovered a large group of sites related to the mining and smelting of copper dating back to the Bronze Age in Tonglvshan, Hubei Province. Recently, the Yanyinshan site was discovered in this region. Several hard crust layers in archaeological strata were unearthed from exploration squares and are the first finding both in this area and in China. The phase and composition of the hard crust were analyzed by microscopic observation, X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence spectra, and ICP-AES. Based on the lithological features, spatial distribution, superimposition relationship, features of the ancient ruins, and comparisons of the mineral composition and geochemical characteristics of trace elements with those from the Tonglvshan copper-iron mine, the hard crust proved to include sediments of wastewater after copper ore washing in the Chinese Bronze Age. This constitutes geoarchaeological evidence of the previously unrecognized parts of the ancient metallurgy chain.