Chinese archaeologists have discovered 15 pottery kilns, dating back to the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.) in the Wujiang River valley in southwest China's Guizhou Province.

Located on a river bank near the Hongdu Township, Tujia Autonomous County of Yanhe, 13 of the 15 ancient pottery kilns remained intact, according to archaeologists with the provincial cultural heritage research institute.

The pottery kilns, scattered in an area of over 3,700 square meters and 120 meters from the Wujiang River, were unearthed from a stratum three meters underground.

One of the kilns, 2.3 meters wide from north to south, has 1.5-meter high walls and a a 0.8-meter-deep water discharge ditch.

Liu Enyuan, a research fellow with the Guizhou Provincial Cultural Heritage Research Institute, said pottery kilns were rarely found in the Wujiang River valley and it was the first time that such a big group of Han pottery kilns had been discovered in the area.

The Wujiang River is one of the major tributaries of the Yangtze River, the longest in China, which runs through this southwest China province.

Archaeologists have unearthed relics such as bricks with decorative designs, tiles and tools used in making pottery from the kilns.

Liu said the ancient pottery kilns were precious materials for studying the history of ethnic architecture in Guizhou Province.
 
(Xinhua News Agency December 19, 2003)