Archaeologists have unearthed three high-temperature ceramic
kilns dating back about 2,000 years in Duting village, Tangxian
County of Hebei Province, proving that north China was
also a cradle of porcelain, against the conception that porcelain
only originated in south China.
Archaeologists from the Hebei Cultural Relic Research Institute
drew this conclusion on the basis that wares in the kilns suggests
they were made at over 1,100 Celsius degree, exceeding the
temperature of 800-900 Celsius degree required for
pottery-making.
Although built during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24),
the kilns in Duting village, Tangxian County of Hebei Province are
in good condition. They were named Duting Kilns after the place of
excavation.
"Many kilns during the Western Han Dynasty have been found
before. However, they are not as well-kept as these ones that
contain all the information we want," said Meng Fanfeng, head of
the excavation team and researcher with the Hebei Institute.
Academic circles used to believe chinaware originated from south
China, especially Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces due to many ancient kilns
being unearthed there.
Archaeologists had believed there was no porcelain clay in north
China, which has been proven to be wrong.
Some Chinese archaeologists argued in the 1960s that north China
is also the cradle of porcelain. However, their idea lacked the
support of material evidences and was not widely recognized.
Before the Duting kilns, the earliest pottery site ever found in
northern China dated back to the Northern Dynasties(386 AD-581
AD).
"The excavation of Duting Kilns became a strong support for the
idea that north China is one of the cradles of pottery," said
Meng.
The Duting kiln site comprising three high-temperature and one
low-temperature kiln were discovered during excavation of cultural
relics along the channels of China's ambitious south-to-north water
diversion project, diverting water from the Yangtze River to
water-shortage northern areas.
The site covers a total area of 10,000 square meters with
one-third of it already excavated.
(Xinhua News Agency December 18, 2006)