In a press conference held on 20 July, the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau of Macau SAR Government unveiled the findings of an archaeological survey in Hac Sá. The survey was conducted by the joint archaeological team of Centre for Chinese Archaeology and Art (CCAA), Institute of Chinese Studies of CUHK and Jao Tsung-I Petite Ecole of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) with Prof. Jao Tsung-I as its consultant, Prof. Tang Chung from the History Department/CCAA as the director, and Dr. Cheng Wai Ming from HKU as the vice-director. The excavation was conducted in the Hac Sá Beach Park from 17 November to 31 December 2006. Major findings of this excavation are highlighted as follows:
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Discovery of a 4,000-year Old Settlement
The excavation site measuring 124 square metres were found a couple of house remains, all dated to the Neolithic period, about 4,000 years ago. -
Discovery of Jade Workshops
Quartz and crystal ornaments, including cores, flakes, preforms, were unearthed from the site along with tools such as stone hammers, pecking stones, grinding stones, and a stone rotary axis of an ancient drilling machine. All these show that the site used to be a hub of workshops manufacturing jade rings and slit rings. -
Discovery of a Depot of Quartz and Crystal Ornaments
Seventy-eight quartz and crystal ornaments were uncovered in from no. 3 of trench 3A. The finding bears evidence of the fact that there used to be a number of quartz and crystal ornaments workshops on the site. -
Breakthrough in the Studies of the History of the Jade Processing Industry
Among the artifacts found at the Hac Sá site, the most important one is the rotary axis, which is a part of a drilling machine with a turning table, an advanced technology in those days. Our first knowledge of the function of this rotary axis was derived from the Hac Sá site. Therefore, it is an important discovery in the history of science and technology in China.
After visiting the Hac Sá site in 2006, Prof. Jao Tsung-i remarked, 'Macau is a precious place with the Hac Sá jade workshop site as its crown jewel. …The Hac Sá site is of great significance and influence in the studies of the "jade culture" in Macau and China as a whole.'
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