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5. 

C. Nature of the Deposit.

As indicated in the above table and Map the digging of this season was carried out in three different parts in and about the village of Hsiao-t'un Ts'un. Our first plan was to dig two trenches cutting across the site. But this was found, thou desirable from a theoretical point of view, to be impractical at the time. So an unconnected trench was dug by running down various shafts of the size 3 meters by 1.50 meters, chiefly along the main road south of the village, extending approximately EW. About ten shafts were run along this trunk line. But no sooner had we attempted the work was it obvious that there was nothing worth digging east of the shaft 79-80, and whatever was found was west of the shaft 101, near which Mr. Tung made his discovery of inscribed tortoise shells the previous season. The digging along the road was not very encouraging as far as the oracle bones were concerned; but it is otherwise important, because two burials were uncovered; one in contracted position, the first one found in China as far as it is known; the other dating back to the seventh century. Small fragments of inscribed bones were also found, but the number is insignificant and the stratification is in most cases disturbed.

Meanwhile some attempt was made in the cotton field north of the village where three trial pits were opened; but it was found to be still more hopeless. The next attempt was to dig the thrashing ground of the village, a large open space located right in the bosom of the village. It was here that we met with our success. The ground was uncovered first by cutting a few trunk ditches, and branching off from them according to the nature of the deposit. The result was that practically the whole area was uncovered and the digging at this point occupied the greater part of our time of the season and yielded