TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1976
REPLICAS OF H.K.'S ANCIENT ROCK CARVINGS
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THE PRODUCTION OF REPLICAS OF HONG KONG'S UNIQUE ANCIENT ROCK CARVINGS, BELIEVED TO BE AROUND 3,000 YEARS OLD, IS IN ITS FINAL STAGES.
SO FAR, THE URBAN COUNCIL'S MUSEUM OF HISTORY HAS, THROUGH A MOULDING PROCESS, PRODUCED REPLICAS OF FIVE OF THE SIX CARVINGS FOUND ON HONG KONG AND SEVERAL OTHER OUTLYING ISLANDS.
WORK ON THE SIXTH ONE ON TUNG LUNG ISLAND BEGAN TODAY. THE LOCATIONS OF THE FIVE OTHER CARVINGS ARE IN BIG WAVE BAY, SHEK PIK ON LANTAU, PO TOI ISLAND, CHEUNG CHAU AND KAU SAI CHAU.
THIS MORNING, THE ROYAL NAVY, THE GURKHA ENGINEERS, A HELICOPTER FROM THE R.A.F. AND THE ROYAL HONG KONG REGIMENT (THE VOLUNTEERS) HELPED STAFF OF THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY TO GAIN ACCESS TO THE TUNG LUNG ISLAND CARVING SITE BY AIRLIFTING MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTING A SCAFFOLDING ON A ROCKY CLIFF AT THE EASTERN EDGE OF THE ISLAND.
ACCORDING TO THE CURATOR OF THE MUSEUM, MR. BRIAN PEACOCK, THE MOULDING PROCESS ENTAILED PAINTING ON THE SURFACE OF THE CARVING WITH LIQUID RUBBER LATEX, TOPPING IT WITH A SHEET OF COTTON GAUZE.
+FOLLOWING THIS, PLASTIC RESIN IS APPLIED ON THE TOP OF THE GAUZE TO GIVE THE MOULD GREATER RIGIDITY AND STRENGTH,+ HE SAID.
+WHEN THE VARIOUS LAYERS HAVE DRIED WHICH TAKES ABOUT A DAY, THE MOULD IS REMOVED AND TAKEN TO THE CONSERVATION LABORATORY OF THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY, WHERE IT IS USED TO PRODUCE AN EXACT REPLICA IN THE FORM OF A CAST, HE ADDED.
MR. PEACOCK REVEALED THAT WHEN THE ENTIRE MOULDING AND CASTING WORK HAD BEEN COMPLETED, AN EXHIBITION OF THE REPLICAS OF THE CARVINGS WOULD BE HELD IN THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY.
APART FROM MAKING A PERMANENT RECORD OF THE CARVINGS, HE CONTINUED, MOVES WERE ALSO BEING TAKEN TO PROTECT THEM FROM BEING DESTROYED BY NATURAL EROSION AND VANDALISM.
+VANDALISM HAS ALREADY TAKEN PLACE, HE POINTED OUT, +AND THERE ARE PLANS TO PUT UP TEMPORARY FENCES TO THWART IRRESPONSIBLE PEOPLE FROM DEFACING THEM.+
MR. PEACOCK EXPLAINED THAT THESE CARVINGS, MANY OF WHICH ARE OF GEOMETRIC DESIGN, DID NOT SEEM TO FIGURE SIGNIFICANTLY IN PRESENT DAY LOCAL TRADITIONS.
+TO GIVE THEIR PRECISE AGE IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT,+ HE STATED.
/+HOWEVER,
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