A total of 284 illegally excavated chinaware and precious
porcelain shards were recovered Tuesday in a small courtyard of
Zhutong Village, Dengfeng City in central China's Henan
Province.
The?courtyard is
filled to the brim with bits of chinaware.
Onlookers were stunned by the ordinary courtyard filled to the
brim with bits of chinaware. "Judging by the shapes of the
porcelain shards, the chinaware dates back to the Tang Dynasty,
Five Dynasties period (907-960), Song Dynasty (960-1127) and Kin
Dynasty (1115-1234)," said an expert with the Henan Provincial
Cultural Relics Appraisal Committee, in an excited tone. "The
porcelain of two of the kilns has never been seen before. It is an
important material in ceramics history research."
In the middle of the small "treasure island" stood a middle-aged
farmer couple. "It was my wife who handled all those valuables. I
know nothing about the cultural relics," said Zhao Danian (alias),
the husband. "I only did some arrangement work."
According to Zhao, the couple's adventure began in 2004, when
the wife, Wang Qiufen (alias) learned about cultural relics and
excavation skills from a trader in Yuzhou City.
She then convinced her husband to enter the illegal cultural
relics business. Since 2004, she has been to several antique
markets all over the province, and even started to excavate relics
herself.
In November 2007, Wang heard there were ancient porcelain kiln
remains in Zhutong Village. She discovered pieces of porcelain on
the foundation of two old houses in that village that were later
confirmed as the remains of ancient kilns by experts.
Wang exchanged a carton of cigarettes and 2,000 yuan for access
to excavating in the two houses. Three days later, Wang harvested
dozens of bags of ancient porcelain.
The illegal operation was detected by a director of the local
police station who was paying a visit to the village, and Wang and
her relatives were all detained by the police. Precious porcelain
recovered at the scene and from Wang's home could parallel a museum
exhibition of cultural relics.
In her home Wang used the precious chinaware as ordinary cookers
or containers. Even the bowls for pig feeding had a considerably
long history. "We didn't need common porcelain. We wanted something
invaluable," said Wang.
"They are neither archaeologists nor cultural relics protectors.
In the process of digging, a great many antiques were damaged,"
said an employee from the local cultural relics bureau.
(China.org.cn by Huang Shan, December 6, 2007)
