A group of Chinese experts found an ancient porcelain kiln dating back to the Tang and Song Dynasties (618 - 1279) in south China's Guangdong Province yesterday when they were doing research studies on the maritime silk road.

Swelling like a small hill, the kiln, about 30 meters along, is immersed in a forest in Leizhou, a port city where the maritime silk road started.

On the ground beside the kiln scattered pieces of porcelain fragments and broken porcelain bowls.

Archaeologist Qiu Licheng deduced from the variety of fragments that the kiln was set up in Tang Dynasty (618-907) and reached its peak in Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279).

According to the construction mode, the scale of the kiln and the styles of porcelain, experts further deduced that porcelain produced here not only satisfied local demand, but were exported to Southeast Asia as well.

(Eastday.com 03/10/2001)