Numerical simulation of the behaviors of test square for prehistoric earthen sites during archaeological excavation

During the process of archaeological excavation in the regions of Southeast China, collapse of test square usually occurs due to poor site-specific conditions. In this paper, the fast Lagrangian analysis of continua in three dimensions（FLAC3D） is employed to reveal the behaviors of test square. Taking the archaeological works in Liangzhu prehistoric earthen sites as the research background, the paper first introduces the geological setting, excavation procedure and monitoring scheme of the studied test square. Then, the deformation of four sides of the test square is modeled using FLAC3D. By comparison, it shows that the numerical results are consistent with the results from field monitoring. The result suggests that the numerical simulation can be effectively applied to representing the actual behaviors of the test square,which is helpful for determination of excavation scheme and stability evaluation of the test square during archaeological excavation.

History of Most Significant Buddhist Archaeological Sites in Gandhara(Pakistan)Discovered During the 20th Century

Gandhara is an ancient name of the region which presently comprises on the surrounding area of Peshawar Valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.The spread of Buddhism in ancient times followed the path of the Silk Road and one of the main routes of the Great Silk Route passed through the Karakorum linking Kashgar with Kashmir and Gandhara.About 1,000 years,countless people travelled along this Silk Route.Their evidences are depicted on the rocky cliffs on the way sides and on rough boulders,strewn in the upper valley of the Indus River and its tributaries.The region of Gandhara,due to its prime position,therefore served as a gateway to Silk Route giving access to Central Asia and to the countries of East and West.While Magadha was known as the first holy land of Buddhism,whereas Gandhara served as second holy land of Buddhism,which was a centre of Buddhist religious practices.The Buddhist sanctuaries generally have statutes of the Buddha or Bodhisattvas to shrine.A large number of antiquities which were discovered during the 20th century by the course of excavations from the different archaeological sites in Gandhara are now pride procession of Museums both at home and abroad.This paper presents an investigation about the history and sterling discovery of the some outstanding and remarkable archaeological sites in Gandhara region(Pakistan)during the 20th century carried out mainly by Archaeological Survey of India(ASI),which was established in 1860 by the British Government in India.