Page 29 - Deydier Early Chinese Bronzes

• The ding 鼎 (87YLVM1:1) was the first ever such vessel discovered
at the Erlitou site. 25 cm high, it is in the form of a deep, round,
thin-walled bowl with two arched handles, one on each side of its
upper rim and a flat bottom supported on three bulbous, rounded,
triangular pointed hollow legs. The body of the vessel is decorated
with a series of lightly raised triangular shaped netting-like patterns.

Ding 鼎 87YLVM1:1 with a sketch of it and the decorative motif covering its mid-body

From 1988 onwards, the work undertaken at the site concentrated
principally on a study of palace ruins, their foundations, surrounding
walls, roadways, possible canal systems and other elements that might
help archaeologists obtain a better understanding of the basic layout and
evolution of this city, which may very possibly have been one of the
capital cities of the Xia dynasty 夏代.

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