Ten kilometers from Bohai Bay, in east China's Shandong province, villagers are busy digging out a 10-thousand square metre site. (Photo: CCTV.com)

The patterns on these containers, reveal that pottery making had reached an artistic acme here, three thousand years ago. By contrast, people of the same era in other parts of the world boiled brine in metal containers to extract sea salt. But these ancient Chinese people made salt in pottery terrenes. The technique they used is a part of recorded History. It was set down in the book of Guanzi, compiled during the Spring and Autumn period, eight hundred years later.

The abundant excavation of pottery shards leads Professor Wang to believe the site may have been a military production facility. And to the delight of the archaeological team, the opulent relics have not been degraded by the activities of nearby modern oil rigs.

It's believed further excavation and research will lead to significant findings about the cultural traditions of Bohai Bay, in Guangrao County. It's also believed the findings will reveal important details concerning the eco-system of the Yellow River Delta in general.

(CCTV April 11,2008)