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 | Tuesday, April 25, 2000, updated at 09:24(GMT+8) | ||||||||||||
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Archeological Finding Reveals Ancient Yellow River CoursesChinese archeologists have uncovered a section of earth that helps to show changing courses of the Yellow River, the second longest in China, in the past 1, 000 years.The finding was made in Yongji City, Shanxi Province in north China, near the site of an ancient Yellow River crossing. The archeologists dug deep into the ground, and found alternate layers of sand and hard soil. They unearthed porcelain pieces and ancient utensils in the layers of hard soil, and identified that the layers of sand were formed by silting. They determined that the layers were formed in six dynasties of Chinese history, from the Tang dynasty (618-907) to the period of the Republic of China (1912-1949), when the river changed its course time and again. Four huge iron oxen along with iron human figures were found earlier at the Pujindu Ferry, an ancient river harbor in the city. Built in the middle Tang Dynasty, they were used to fasten anchors and people wished the lumbersome objects each weighing 146 tons could harness the wanton river. Experts believe the archeological finds can help the study of the process of soil erosion in the upstream of the river. Historical records show that the river changed its course 26 times over the past 2,000 years. Each time, the change caused huge economic losses and hundreds and thousands of people were forced to abandon their homes.
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