陕西洛南河口绿松石矿遗址调查报告

Report on the Investigation of the Turquoise Mining Sites at Hekou in Luonan, Shaanxi

河口矿业遗址位于陕西省洛南县洛河沿岸。2010～2015年,北京科技大学与陕西省考古研究院对河口遗址周边进行了数次调查,发现了10处古代开采绿松石的洞穴遗址。这批洞穴规模较大,采集到的遗物较为丰富,主要为石器和陶片。遗址中采集的石锤为一种古代的采矿工具,洞穴内发现的蓝色矿石经过定性分析,确认为绿松石,因此判断这批洞穴为古代开采绿松石的矿业遗址。从发现的陶片、开采工具的年代以及碳十四测年等资料判断,其开采年代始于新石器时代晚期到青铜时代早期,延续到春秋时期。唐宋时期仍有使用,但不能确定是否与矿石开采有关。河口古代绿松石矿业遗址的发现,为研究我国早期绿松石的开采、使用、流通及来源提供了重要信息。

This article reports the discovery of the cluster of mining caves nearby one of the tributaries of the Luo River in Luonan County, Shaanxi Province. Rich archaeological remains, including pottery sherds and stone artifacts, were found at these sites. The assemblage of the stone artifacts includes hammers, balls, grindstones, lamps, and so forth. Preliminary research suggests that stone hammers was used as mining tools. Analytic research of ore collected, which are blue and green minerals, proves that they are turquoises. According to the typology of the ceramic sherds and 14 C dating results, this article suggests that the turquoise deposits were mined from the late Neolithic to the Springs and Autumns period. The discovery of the Hekou ancient turquoise mining site in Shaanxi provides signifi cant information for the provenance of turquoise in early China.