ENG-2008 — Page 490

414 History

important clues to the kind of society that existed at the time and the way settlements formed in the Pearl River Delta.

Rock carvings with geometric designs, and patterns resembling stylised animals most likely made by these early inhabitants, were found at Shek Pik on Lantau Island, on Kau Sai Chau, Po Toi, Cheung Chau and Tung Lung Chau, and at Big Wave Bay and Wong Chuk Hang on Hong Kong Island.

The conquest of South China by the military from the North during the Qin (221-207 BC) and Han (206 BC-AD 220) dynasties brought increasing numbers of Han settlers to the region, who exerted different influences on the indigenous populations. Evidence of this is in the Han period coins that were dug up, but the most outstanding monument to this turbulent period must undoubtedly be the fine brick-built tomb uncovered at Lei Cheng Uk in Sham Shui Po in 1955, with its array of typical Han tomb furniture, dating back to the early to middle Eastern Han period. Excavations at Pak Mong on Lantau Island, on Kau Sai Chau, at Tung Wan Tsai on Ma Wan Island and at So Kwun Wat in Tuen Mun all yielded considerable quantities of Han dynasty artefacts in well-stratified sequences, as well as four ceramic pots discovered from the drainage works site at Mong Kok. These included different pottery vessels, iron implements and a large quantity of bronze coins.

Archaeological remains from later historic periods are still relatively rare. Findings from excavations have shed welcome light on one aspect of life in Hong Kong during the Tang dynasty (AD 618-907) the use of lime. This is revealed in a study of the dome-shaped lime kilns which are almost an ubiquitous feature of Hong Kong's beaches. Lime was a valuable commodity useful for caulking and protecting wooden boats against marine organisms, water-proofing containers, dressing the acid soils of agricultural fields, building, producing salt and other uses. It clearly played an important role in the economy of the time.

Strong traditions link Hong Kong with the events that occurred during the Mongol incursions and with the concluding chapters of the Song dynasty in the 13th century AD. Several finds were from this period: the Sung Wong Toi inscription, now relocated near the entrance to the former Hong Kong International Airport in Kowloon; the Song inscription in the grounds of the Tin Hau Temple at Joss House Bay; caches of Song coins from Shek Pik, Mai Po and Kellett Island; and Song-type celadons found at different sites, especially Nim Shue Wan and Shek Pik on Lantau Island and Ngau Hom Shek in Yuen Long.

Studies are beginning to shed fresh light on events in Hong Kong during the Ming (AD 1368-1644) and Qing (AD 1644-1911) dynasties. These include an analysis of considerable quantities of Ming blue-and-white porcelain collected and excavated from Penny's Bay, Lantau. They are very fine quality export ware of the kind that found its way to Southeast Asia and further west, and dates from the first decades of the 16th century AD. During another excavation in 2001, more Ming remains were retrieved, including building foundations and structures suggesting the presence of a Ming settlement at Penny's Bay. Archaeological probes at the ancient kiln site at Wun Yiu in Tai Po suggested that potters probably began to manufacture