Archaeologists have unearthed three high-temperature ceramic kilns dating back about 2,000 years in Duting village, Tangxian County of Hebei Province, proving that north China was also a cradle of porcelain, against the conception that porcelain only originated in south China.

Archaeologists from the Hebei Cultural Relic Research Institute drew this conclusion on the basis that wares in the kilns suggests they were made at over 1,100 Celsius degree, exceeding the temperature of 800-900 Celsius degree required for pottery-making.

Although built during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24), the kilns in Duting village, Tangxian County of Hebei Province are in good condition. They were named Duting Kilns after the place of excavation.

"Many kilns during the Western Han Dynasty have been found before. However, they are not as well-kept as these ones that contain all the information we want," said Meng Fanfeng, head of the excavation team and researcher with the Hebei Institute.

Academic circles used to believe chinaware originated from south China, especially Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces due to many ancient kilns being unearthed there.

Archaeologists had believed there was no porcelain clay in north China, which has been proven to be wrong.

Some Chinese archaeologists argued in the 1960s that north China is also the cradle of porcelain. However, their idea lacked the support of material evidences and was not widely recognized.

Before the Duting kilns, the earliest pottery site ever found in northern China dated back to the Northern Dynasties(386 AD-581 AD).

"The excavation of Duting Kilns became a strong support for the idea that north China is one of the cradles of pottery," said Meng.

The Duting kiln site comprising three high-temperature and one low-temperature kiln were discovered during excavation of cultural relics along the channels of China's ambitious south-to-north water diversion project, diverting water from the Yangtze River to water-shortage northern areas.

The site covers a total area of 10,000 square meters with one-third of it already excavated.

(Xinhua News Agency December 18, 2006)