Hong Kong rocked - stones add 30,000 years to city's history
15 January 2006
South China Morning Post

A cache of ancient tools and artefacts discovered in Sai Kung shows the first Hongkongers were here almost 30,000 years earlier than previously believed.

More than 3,000 stone fragments quarried from rocks nearby have been collected from a hill slope and a beach near Wong Tei Tung hill, by Three Fathoms Cove in eastern Sai Kung, nearly three years after the first fragments were spotted.

Archaeologist Stephen Ng Wai-hung and his colleague Wong Fu made the initial discovery by accident in spring 2003. "We were hiking and fishing and when we came to the beach. Wong Fu saw some interesting stones and showed them to me. They didn't look like they were normal beach pebbles or rough stones that had fallen from the hill. We thought they looked like raw materials that would be suitable for making tools," Mr Ng said.

"We checked the geological background of the area and found the rocks here were ideal for stone tools. I showed some specimens to my teacher, Zhang Zhenhong, and he confirmed these were artefacts made with Palaeolithic technology."

Professor Zhang, of the anthropology department at Zhongshan University, identified the stone fragments as primitive stone tools never before found in Hong Kong or in southern coastal areas of China. Optical-luminescence dating has determined that the stones are between 35,000 and 39,000 years old.

"It had been generally accepted that Hong Kong's history dated back only about 6,000 years, but this site proves that our history goes back more than 35,000 years," Mr Ng said.

Yesterday, Professor Zhang showed reporters how ancient man made tools by smashing two stones against each other until sharp-edged fragments were chipped off and could be fashioned into cutting and chopping tools.

The Hong Kong Archaeological Society, of which Mr Ng is vice-chairman, joined forces with mainland experts to excavate and survey the site of the so-called "lithic workshop", or stone-tool factory. The site measures about 100 metres wide and stretches about 400 metres down from the hillside across the beach and partly into the sea. Many stone fragments were recovered on a field survey, but the archaeologists also dug a test pit and found tools at a range of depths.

Gao Xing, deputy director of the Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Palaeoanthropology in Beijing said it was the first time artefacts of this kind had been found in the region. "It is extremely difficult to find such high-quality material," he said. Mr Ng said the most common tool made in this area would have been hand axes, used for cutting and chopping.

With a $150,000 grant from the Hong Kong government's Antiquities and Monuments Office, Mr Ng and eight other archaeologists from Macau and the mainland have been carrying out excavation work at the site for more than a year, and the work will continue throughout this year.

The archaeologists said the Wong Tei Tung site was unlikely to be the only one in the area.

They expressed fears that such sites could be pillaged or damaged and are keeping the location of their Sai Kung excavation a secret.

Research challenges historic value of wall
24 January 2006
South China Morning Post

A push by residents and conservation activists to save the former police married quarters in Hollywood Road, Central, from the wrecker's ball has suffered a setback, as government research alleges doubts about the site's historic value.

The government said in a paper on the future of the 62,400 sq ft site that tests on a wall residents believe formed part of Queen's College show it was built in a different era. The paper will be discussed by the Antiquities Advisory Board today.

Many prominent business and political leaders attended the college, which was the first to emphasise English education. It moved to its present site in Causeway Road, Causeway Bay, in 1950, and its Central premises, built in 1889, were demolished in 1951.

Activists' and residents' claims about the wall's heritage formed the cornerstone of their attack on government plans to sell the site for residential development. The conservationists want at least half the site preserved as green space.

In July last year, the board gave in to public pressure to preserve two separate walls, and the trees growing along them, on nearby Hollywood Road and Shing Wong Street.

The Antiquities and Monuments Office said a detailed investigation showed materials used to build the disputed wall were from a later period than those used to build walls seen in photos taken of the site in 1897 and 1903. The office said the photographs showed pierced balustrades on the upper portions of the parapets, while samples taken by drilling had found only grey bricks and "contemporary tiles" - indicating a different period of construction to that of the walls the board had agreed to preserve.

Marina Lo Kai-man, of the Conservancy Association heritage centre, said: "This is about more than building materials; it is about preserving a piece of Hong Kong's history."

Up to 83 stone walls may be given protected status
8 February 2006
South China Morning Post

The guardians of the city's historical monuments are studying more than 80 stone walls to establish if they can be included in a list of protected structures.

The Antiquities and Monuments Office will carry out a year-long study of 83 walls to gauge their historical significance.

During the study, expected to be completed in April, the office must be contacted about any work on the walls before it can be carried out.

The self-proclaimed protector of the city's trees, Jim Chi-yung, provided a list of the walls to the office in the hope that at least some will be preserved. Many are home to banyan trees that have sprouted naturally through the stones.

A spokeswoman for the office said the ordinance that protects structures applies only to historical buildings. "There is nothing under the ordinance which applies to trees," she said. "This is an issue which is being looked into."

Professor Jim said he had identified more than 500 stone walls worthy of protection. Among 83 he has compiled into a shortlist are 10 he says are particularly important as fine examples of century-old stone walls supporting banyan trees and hallmarks of the city's heritage.

The office is working with Professor Jim and the Geotechnical Engineering Office (GEO) to complete the inventory of the trees and walls to be considered for protection orders and conservation work.

"[We have] been in close liaison with Professor Jim and the GEO on the Study on Masonry Walls with Trees under the identified list of masonry walls. The study undertaken by the GEO focuses on identifying appropriate engineering measures for upgrading the substandard masonry walls, while preserving the associated trees on the walls as well as the existing masonry pattern where warranted," the antiquities spokeswoman said.

Among the walls under the microscope is one by the former police quarters at Hollywood Road, which faces redevelopment. Last year, the Antiquities Advisory Board gave in to pressure to preserve the wall, which local residents and conservationists say formed part of Queen's College, the original building on the site.

Treated like dirt
Hong Kong's soil reveals that it was much more than just a fishing village, but its archaeological heritage is threatened by official indifference
15 October 2008
South China Morning Post

Hong Kong is typically described as being no more than a small fishing village before five major clans settled in the New Territories during the Song dynasty about 900 years ago. But archaeologists now say it's probably far older and was a more prosperous community than is generally thought.

The problem is that relics offering clues about Hong Kong settlements that may date as far back as 6,000 years are in danger of being lost or destroyed because of insufficient government protection, they warn.

Surveys commissioned by the Antiquities and Monuments Office (AMO) in the 1980s and 90s found relics buried in 237 sites across the city. About 800,000 items - mostly stone artefacts and shards of pottery - were unearthed during test digs and excavation work over the years, but they have mostly remained in storage.

Many sites are "disappearing both legally and illegally", says archaeologist William Meacham, an honorary research fellow at the University of Hong Kong's Centre of Asian Studies.

Last year, the Hong Kong Archaeological Society found that Luk Keng Tsuen on Lantau, where some Tang dynasty kilns were found, had been turned into a barbecue area.

"They [archaeological sites] are a heritage treasure shared by all. If you destroy them they'll be gone forever," says society chairman Cheng Kai-ming.

About five years ago, Meacham was outraged to find several large village houses being built near the Pak Mong site on Lantau, a repository of pottery from the Western Han period.

According to the AMO, construction around Pak Mong and Luk Keng Tsuen is not on "major deposit areas" at the sites. But Meacham says the government should at least allow archaeologists to assess the site and its surroundings as more relics may be buried nearby.

"You never know - what looks like a minor site may turn into a major one when you start digging."

But the AMO says it does all it can to protect sites, often seeking funds from related government departments to conduct "rescue excavations" when developers begin building on an archaeological site. For instance, HK$6 million has been allocated for a dig at So Kwun Wat in Tuen Mun, where there are plans to build a school.

Yet other than that, the AMO leaves many important sites untouched. It says this is in line with the international practice of putting off digs until necessary because technological advances are likely to allow historians to retrieve more evidence than is possible with existing tools, which may destroy more than they reveal.

"Our principle is not to excavate the site if possible because a dig is an irreversible experiment. Some archaeology textbooks even call it a destructive process," says Kevin Sun Tak-wing, the AMO's archaeology curator.

Sun says that has been a global trend since the 70s as historical preservation is balanced against social and economic development. A regulation that came into force this year now requires heritage assessments to be made before any construction work is undertaken in Hong Kong. The developer or organisation behind any project must commission a licensed archaeologist for a study of the area and to make recommendations on a course of action.

Although archaeologists agree with the AMO's approach for new excavations, they say the government should launch a scheme to monitor conditions at known sites, which may be threatened by human activity.

Steven Ng Wai-hung, an archaeologist at an environmental management company, says that relics in Hong Kong extend beyond the 237 identified sites, but that many areas have been damaged because of a lack of government attention. "Shouldn't [heritage authorities] at least send staff to check on these sites once in a while {hellip} to make sure they're still intact," he says.

Ng says the government could set up museums or archaeological parks to preserve major sites and attract tourists. It's not an issue of money but of how conscious people are about protecting their heritage, he says, citing how prosperous villages in the Pearl River Delta set up display centres when historical sites are uncovered during construction projects.

By contrast, Ng points to inaction in Hong Kong following a dig at Ma Wan in 1997 that uncovered 20 graves with cultural relics dating back to the late neolithic and early bronze ages.

"The excavation at Ma Wan was voted one of China's 10 major archaeological discoveries that year by mainland experts," he says. "Shouldn't the government consider preserving the site or building a museum there? If they did so, Hong Kong would have one more tourist attraction. But they decided just to dig everything out and put the relics in storage."

Liu Mao, a researcher at the Hong Kong Institute of Archaeology, says the government has done more to preserve cultural heritage as public concern about such issues has grown in recent years, particularly following the demolition of the Star Ferry Pier. "But efforts are mostly concentrated on historic buildings and there's no mention of archaeology," she says.

Ng, who stumbled upon a site at Wong Tei Tung, in Sai Kung, during a hike in 2003, says a dig uncovered about 3,000 stone artefacts dating back more than 4,000 years. They found evidence that early settlers were quarrying stone for export. Meacham reckons the relics are between 5,000 and 7,000 years old, but some experts estimate they could date back 20,000 to 30,000 years.

"If that's true, it would be hugely important in world archaeology," says Meacham, adding that further investigation is needed to determine the age of the site.

"Even if my estimate is correct, it is still a very important site. You don't have many of those around the world because it's a huge effort to quarry stone and [settlers] were obviously exporting and trading it."

Indeed, experts say Hong Kong has a richer history than most people realise. It was well known as one of China's 26 salt-making centres during the Song dynasty, but the discovery of a number of ancient kilns across the New Territories has also led Ng to conclude that Hong Kong had a flourishing lime-making industry during the Tang dynasty.

Early coastal settlers were also found to have made notched quartz rings for export to the mainland as ornaments, suggesting that Hong Kong was a significant production and trading centre some 4,000 years ago, he says. "For geographical reasons Hong Kong had become a port, a way station and a stop along the sea route to Southeast Asia. Many different people visited and stayed here, and as a result many artefacts were left behind," he says.

Liu urges the government to make better use of its excavated relics instead of leaving them in storage. The artefacts should be properly studied and displayed in exhibitions to educate the public about the city's history, she says.

"People should know that Hong Kong was more than a fishing village. This is particularly important for the younger generation. The older generation who came from the mainland generally don't think about the history of Hong Kong, but these young people were born and raised here. They should have more respect for their history."

Exhibition shows development of archaeology in Hong Kong
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Government Press Release

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The excavation at Man Kok Tsui on Lantau Island in 1958.

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The excavation at Lung Kwu Chau in 1974.

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The Bronze Age pottery stem cup excavated from Hai Dei Wan on Lantau Island.

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The Bronze Age hard pottery food container with lugs excavated from Man Kok Tsui on Lantau Island.

An exhibition that depicts the development of archaeology in Hong Kong from the 1920s to the present day will be held at the Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre from tomorrow (August 14) until September 26.

Jointly organised by the Antiquities and Monuments Office and the Hong Kong Archaeological Society, the exhibition "Keys to the Past: Artefacts and Records" introduces how archaeologists use artefacts and records to reconstruct the lives of early inhabitants through displaying artefacts excavated locally, plus various field records.

From the Greek word, "Archaeology" means the study of antiquities. Nowadays, it has become a cross-disciplinary study. Most of the objects and traces of life left by ancestors thousands years ago have been buried. Scientific investigation and excavation are needed to uncover and collect the artefacts systematically and completely. Archaeological excavation, through which records and artefacts can be obtained, has become the key to studying the past, especially the "prehistoric period" which had no written record.

The principle of archaeological excavations is to restore the site to its state before excavation using the records and artefacts available. Fom the 19th century to the early 20th century, field records had not yet been systematised, so archaeologists mostly used diary and note-taking methods to make simple records on the location of artefacts, the strata they belonged to and the amount of artefacts found. As archaeology developed, field records became more detailed.

Academics of various faculties started conducting excavation work and surveying in Hong Kong in the 1920s. For example, Chen Kun-chieh and Walter Schofield excavated at Tung Wan in Shek Pik on Lantau Island and Lung Kwu Chau in Tuen Mun, Father Finn excavated at Tai Wan on Lamma Island. Using the note-taking method, they recorded survey and excavation records daily. They also surveyed the landform of the site, drew layout plans of the artefacts and took photos.

This method of daily note-taking by hand was used until the 1980s, but as research goals changed, the content and format of the notes began to standardise, and included details such as reference numbers of the grid, the strata and the feature, the artefact or feature's date, type, volume and description; drawings of the layout of artefacts and features, and also the reference number of the site and the way the artefacts were lifted out.

Since the late 1970s, for excavation of archaeological sites like Sham Wan on Lantau Island, Lung Kwu Chau, Sha Chau, Hai Dei Wan on Lantau Island and Chung Hom Wan on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong archaeologists have had systematic field records. Different types of record forms were designed, based on the types of artefacts, the nature of the archaeological site, the strata, the features available (tombs, kilns or houses), the relationship between the strata.

There are currently many types of common records used in Hong Kong field archaeology, including daily register, field surface record sheet, grid/ trench record sheet, stratigraphy/ context record sheet, human burial record sheet, built structure record sheet, stratigraphy/ content matrix diagram, artefact register, environmental sample register, measured drawings of artefact, stratification and feature, photograph register, video register and artefact packing register. Archaeologists will use different record forms according to the content that needs to be recorded.

Currently, Hong Kong has more than 200 archaeological sites from various periods. The sites and artefacts excavated prove that there were inhabitants who lived in Hong Kong since the Neolithic period about 6,000 to 7,000 years ago. Rows of postholes found at the Ha Pak Nai near Deep Bay in Yuen Long show that the early inhabitants might have lived in stilt houses; remains of burnt clay, stoves and ashes discovered in various sites reveal that they already knew how to cook with fire.

The stone implements, bronze ware and pottery excavated can also reflect the life and culture of the early inhabitants. For example, stone net weights and stone arrowheads show that economic activities like fishing and hunting were already taking place; animal bones and shells help us understand their diet and the ecology of the time. Stone anchors excavated from Yung Long in Tuen Mun and Sha Lo Wan in the northern coast of Lantau Island show that rafts or canoes for transportation in water might have existed. Also, the casts of bronze implements excavated from various sites and the bronze slag remaining from the casting process discovered in Sha Po Tsuen on Lamma Island reflect the existence of local metallurgy and the trade in raw materials.

The process of discovering facts is not only the aim of other disciplines, it is also the direction in which archaeology is heading. On one hand, archaeologists follow the path of our ancestors. They learn from their success and failures. With new developments in excavation and recording methods, Hong Kong's past culture and society will be gradually unveiled. The renewal and perfecting of archaeological methods not only increase the number of discoveries, it also enhances their contents in depth and accuracy. Such improvements are essential to guide the way to protect our precious archaeological heritage.

The Heritage Discovery Centre is located at Kowloon Park, Haiphong Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. It opens from 10am to 6pm from Monday to Saturday and from 10am to 7pm on Sundays and public holidays. The centre is closed on Thursdays (except public holidays). Admission is free.

For details of the exhibition, guided visit and other activities, please visit Antiquities and Monuments Office's website at http://www.amo.gov.hk or call 2208 4400.

古物現場再挖瓦片
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2011年08月02日(二)

旺角黑布街地盤挖出的釉漆陶罐，古物古蹟辦事處鑑定屬清代晚期的痰盂，昨晨十時許，三名古蹟辦人員重到現場，量度挖出痰盂的泥坑，並將積水抽出，再掘出十多塊瓦片及一塊長方形磚頭，帶走化驗。初步相信瓦片是家居器物碎片，同時認為在現場發現相關文物機會不高，但仍密切關注，若再發現古物，承辦商需盡快通知古蹟辦。

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