Archaeological Investigation and Industrial Heritage Study of the Wanshan Mercury Mining Site in Guizhou Province, China

ABSTRACT

Mercury is the only natural liquid non-ferrous metal that occurs under normal temperature. Cinnabar, also known as Chensha 辰砂 and Dansha 丹砂 in ancient China, is a natural ore of mercury sulphide that exists in mercury mines and is the most common source ore for refining elementary mercury. The largest cinnabar deposit in China is at the Wanshan mercury mine in Wanshan Town, Guizhou Province, which was an important centre for the mercury production industry since the Tang Dynasty (AD 618–907). An archaeological field survey of the area identified 36 locations related to cinnabar mining and mercury production spanning the period from the Tang and Song Dynasties (AD 960–1279) to the late 20th century. This survey was the first comprehensive archaeological investigation and exploratory research of these materials, and provides a fresh insight into the evolution of the Wanshan mercury mine and its secondary development as a unique industrial heritage site.

KEYWORDS:

• Wuling Mountains
• Wanshan
• cinnabar mining
• mercury smelting
• mining industrial heritage

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

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6 Containing valuable information on Ming government, society and prominent individuals, the Mingshi was compiled from materials collected over the course of the Ming period (1368–1644) and was presented to the Qing throne in 1736 and published in 1739.

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8 Li, Zhou and Wei, ‘Report on the Wanshan Mercury Mining Site in Guizhou Province’, 22–40.

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16 Xiaoli Qian et al., ‘Distribution of Inorganic Mercury and Methylmercury in Wild Plants Inhabited on Abandoned Lands of Wanshan Hg Mining Region, Guizhou Province’, in Chinese 贵州万山汞矿废弃地自然定居植物对汞与甲基汞的吸收与累积, Chinese Journal of Ecology 生态学杂志 38 (2019): 558–66.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (grant no. 2019M653456), the National Social Science Fund of China (grant no. 15ZDB056), and Sichuan University (2021CXC14 and 2035xd-02).

Notes on contributors

Yingfu Li

Yingfu Li, is a professor at the School of Archaeology and Museology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.

Chunyan Ma

Chunyan Ma is a Ph.D candidate at the School of Archaeology and Museology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.

Fang Liu

Fang Liu is a Ph.D candidate at the School of Archaeology and Museology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China. Her research interests include protection and utilisation of cultural heritage.

Wan Huang

Wan Huang is a Ph.D. candidate at the School of Archaeology and Museology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China. Her research interests include archaeometallurgy and conservation of iron objects.

Yuniu Li

Yuniu Li is a professor at the School of Archaeology and Museology & Centre for Archaeological Science, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China. His research interests include archaeometallurgy, industrial archaeology and experimental archaeology. Correspondence to: Yuniu Li. Email: [email protected] or [email protected].