香港元朗厦村乡陈家园沙丘遗址的发掘

EXCAVATION OF THE CHENJIAYUAN DUNE SITE AT YUANLANG, HONG KONG

元朗厦村乡白泥村陈家园沙丘遗址是香港政府古物古迹办事处组织全港文物普查，由第一普查工作队(元朗区队)于1997年5月发现的(图一)。该遗址经初步勘探，面积广大，南北长320、东西宽60米。有两个文化层，堆积厚达1米，由于时间所限，只能开1×2米的探沟勘探遗址范围、文化层次，但对于遗址所包含的文化内涵，知之极少。为对这一重要遗址取得更详细的资料，香港考古学会经得古物古迹办事处批准发掘此遗址，作为1998年的重点研究项目。

The Chenjiayuan dune site lies at Baini Village, Xiacun Township, western Yuanlang, Hong Kong, and measures 320m long from the north to the south and 60m wide from the west to the east. Archaeological survey was carried out here in May 1997 by excavating two areas T1 and T2, with T1 divided into A-D Squares. The excavation brought to light four postholes, nine fireplaces, three kilns and one tomb. The site contains two superimposed cultural layers. The artifacts from the lower layer consist of stone and pottery wares. The stone objects are made by chipping and polishing. The pottery includes sandy and fine clay wares with some vessels polished. The cord mark, L-shaped design and checked pattern are common decorations. This layer dates from the late Neolithic period. Grayish-red fine clay pottery and fragments of bronzes are discovered from the upper layer, which belongs to the early Bronze Age in the Hong Kong region. This is the first time prehistoric kilns have been excavated in the in Hong Kong region. The three kilns are arranged in a straight line from southwest to northeast and show differences from each other in structure and similarities to the kiln with a flat roof and vertical pit recorded at Hutoupu, Puning, Guangdong, and that with a flat roof and horizontal pit at Zoumagang, Shaoguang of the same province. The discovery of these kilns and the artifacts they contain are greatly significant in prehistoric Hong Kong archaeology. It furnishes material evidence to researching into the pottery-making technology of that time. The remains of pottery-making and jade-carving workshops discovered on the site indicate that the people living on the southern shore of Houhai bay from the late Neolithic period to the early Bronze Age had a settled life, relying mainly on fishing, hunting and agriculture, and being concurrently engaged in primitive handcrafts.