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14.

In the course of conversing with workmen and inquiring the village farmers, I learned that within the village, oracle bones were also found; this information was confirmed by some friends from the city who witnessed the discovery of the finds in the village. This had been kept a great secret by the villagers; it was with a great deal of difficulty that I succeeded to find it out. So on the 18th and 19th I sent workers to dig test holes, and instructed them to pay special attentions to three localities: 1. The vegetable garden opposite to Chang Hsueh-hsien's house; 2. The thrashing ground east of the wall that bounds the vegetable garden and 3. That part of the village road near the house of the Han's([[韓]) because these three places were considered by all informants as the most promising.

On the twentieth, three pits were opened in the village: one in Locality I and two in Locality II.  Pit 22 and 23 in Loc. 2 had been worked and were soon given up.  Pit 24 in Loc. I is a discovery: below the fifth foot, the soil turns grey, fifteen pieces of inscribed bones were found. The bones are well preserved and the letters are very clear.  From the sixth foot to the eighth foot, such discoveries were continuously made, the soil become somewhat sandy.  Besides the inscribed bones, string-impressed pottery shards and charcoal were also found. Below the eighth foot, animal bones and teeth were turned out. The following section shows the stratification and the artifacts found from the different strata(Fig. 1  ).

The work in Area II was partly continued even after that in Area III started. Six more pit were excavated in this area; they are: 25, 26, 28, 29, 32, and 33. Some small discovery were made in pit 25 and 26, among which may be mentioned inscribed bones with red pigments filled in the incised part.  From the other four pits, only copper rusts and prepared bones were found.