A world of discoveries

The theme of this year’s forum was technology and society. As it happens, this is right up my street… 

The 6th Shanghai Archaeological Forum has just drawn to a close, and it is time to reflect on its many highlights. This year, the field trip was scheduled on the first day, and we were given the choice of visiting freshly uncovered shipwrecks and the new Shanghai Museum, or to take the bus south to visit two key sites: Jingtoushan and Hemudu. I opted for the latter, because I am currently writing a paper on the importance of fishing in the Neolithic diaspora south from this region, and Jingtoushan is a key site for this. It took quite some time to navigate the busy Shanghai roads, with the prospect of traversing the mighty Hangzhou Estuary bridge. This amazing structure is fully 36km- long and it took the bus, travelling at pace, 20 minutes to cross it. Jingtoushan exceeded my expectations. Dating back to about 8,300 years BP, it was a very early site documenting rice and pig domestication, but much reliant on harvesting the rich resources of the wet lowland habitat. After abandonment, it was covered with a thick layer of anaerobic marine sediments, leading to the preservation of an unmatched range of organic artefacts. There were the wooden hafts of stone axes, paddles, fishing traps, mats, house posts, and a monumental amount of fish, shellfish, and plant remains, some still stored in baskets. It was possible to descend into the depths to see the site, now safely roofed, as well as the on-site lab to inspect the many finds. The second destination, Hemudu, I have been to before. This is an iconic site for early rice farming, but now there is a new museum, featuring a remarkable area you can walk into and experience the virtual reality of visiting the village as it was 7,000 years ago.

This day out was the hors d’oeuvre to the opening ceremony hosted by the Mayor of Shanghai, during which the awardees were presented with their certificates, before each gave us a description of their research. We all recollect the fire that nearly destroyed Notre-Dame, and, over breakfast that morning, I chanced to meet Christophe Besnier. Our conversation turned naturally to what he did, and he told me that he had directed the archaeological research in the cathedral in the aftermath of the disaster. And what incredible finds he made! Christophe showed us the medieval sculptures buried during 18th-century renovations, and lead coffins that, when opened, revealed the remains of prelates he illustrated with contemporary paintings of them in vivo.