*3.7. A Recent Combined Project in Kaifeng, Henan (China)*

Geophysical prospection, photogrammetric techniques, (LIDAR, GIS, GPS, etc.) were applied to locate and reveal the ancient capital of China at Kaifeng. It was the geophysical detection of sub-terrain relics that drove the archaeological service to start a large excavation enterprise. Six ancient cities buried deep underground and spanning several dynasties over 2000 years have been unearthed in Kaifeng, in the east of China's Henan province. Archaeologists and archaeometrists worked collaboratively at the Xinzheng Gate site, a gate on the wall of the ruins of Bianliang (Kaifeng's name during the Northern Song Dynasty, 960 to 1127 AD) [104,105] (Figure 10).

(**a**) (**b**)

**Figure 10.** (**a**) Stratigraphy of the Kaifeng six city-upon-city, Xinzheng Gate site, (**b**) view of the ongoing excavation. Objects found are in the adjacent museum (photo © by IL).

The 2000-square-meter site boasts cultural relics from the Warring States Period (475–221 BC) to the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911 AD), with each city piled one on top of another.

It includes city gates and walls from the Song Dynasty (960–1279 AD), roads from the Song to the Qing Dynasties, civilian homes and courtyards from the Qing Dynasty, plus courtyard walls from Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368 AD). An increased number of visits to the site and associated museum in Kaifeng has been noted as a result of government's efforts to capitalize on tourism has kicking into high gear.
