Hongshan Great Wall Quarry Site

Hongshan Great Wall Quarry Site

The Hongshan Great Wall Quarry Site is a cultural relic protection unit of Hebei Province.

On the northern slope of Hongshan Mountain, nine kilometers south of the Zhongyu Kou Pass of the Great Wall, there is a quarry site. Through on-site archaeological investigation and analysis, as well as comparison with data from the general survey of the Great Wall, it has been determined to be a quarry established during the Ming Dynasty for the construction of the Great Wall. This site was designated as one of the first batch of key cultural relics protection units by the People's Government of Lulong County. In 1986, it was approved and announced by the municipal government as a municipal-level cultural relics protection unit, named the "Lulong Hongshan Great Wall Quarry Site." Since this site is a rare Great Wall quarry in the province, the various remains within the site reflect the professional technical level and craftsmanship methods of quarrying operations in our region at that time. It serves as an important basis for studying ancient productive forces and investigating the development of specialized technologies at the time, and is especially of significant reference value for the study of the Ming Great Wall. Therefore, on July 15, 1993, it was approved and announced by the People's Government of Hebei Province as one of the third batch of key cultural relics protection units of Hebei Province.

The Lulong Hongshan Great Wall Quarry Site is located on the northern slope of Hongshan Mountain, west of Chengbaizhuang Village in Yanheying Town, at an altitude of 148 meters, nine kilometers north of the Zhongyu Kou section of the Great Wall. The site is irregularly dumbbell-shaped, with larger areas at both the eastern and western ends and a narrower middle section, stretching approximately 1,300 meters from east to west and nearly 700 meters from north to south. It was established for the construction of the Ming Great Wall, but the exact time is not confirmed. The site is surrounded by high mountains or hills, and less than a kilometer down the northeastern slope is Chengxizhuang Village beside the Anyan Highway. Next to the road is a small river called the Yan River. Traveling upstream along the river to the north leads to a point 1.5 kilometers from the Zhongyu Kou Pass of the Great Wall. The soil within the site is dark red, and the ground is covered with pine forests and weeds. Huge dark red rocks are scattered across the surface, with some as large as 12 cubic meters, and commonly between 5–10 cubic meters. The stones are Jurassic-era basal conglomerates, dark red in color, brittle, without natural texture, not prone to weathering, and easy to split, chisel, and process. Due to the massive scale of the Great Wall construction project, a large quantity of stone blocks was needed. Hongshan was close to the Great Wall, roads, and rivers, facilitating the transport of stone materials. Moreover, the massive rocks were exposed on the surface in large quantities and over a wide area, making them easy to quarry and process without the need to dig for stone. Therefore, it was reasonable to establish a Great Wall quarry here to split and process the foundation stones for the Great Wall.

The main remains within the site are the roughly hewn strip-shaped stone blanks quarried at the time and the chiseling marks left on the huge rocks, which are abundant in number. According to surveys and measurements, the length of the stone blanks ranges from 200–350 centimeters, width from 50–60 centimeters, and thickness from 40–50 centimeters. Prior to 1958, the site also contained a large number of finished stone materials and semi-finished stones scattered all over the hills. However, these were later transported away by villagers from the nearby Ranzhuang area, about three kilometers from the site, for use in road and bridge construction. In 1983, Yang Weimin, a cultural relics officer from Lulong County, analyzed and compared the survey results of the site with data from the 1982 Great Wall survey, confirming the legend that the Hongshan quarry site was indeed used for quarrying stones to build the Ming Great Wall. The stones used for the foundations of the seven-kilometer-long section of the Great Wall and watchtowers around Zhongyu Kou are also basal conglomerates, dark red in color, matching the stone type of Hongshan, and no similar stone has been found in the surrounding mountains. The sizes of the split stone blanks within the site vary depending on the size of the exposed rocks. If the stone blanks are split into two or three pieces and then further processed into square shapes, they match the specifications of the Great Wall foundation stones in the Zhongyu Kou area.

The remains within the site can be roughly divided into three categories: First, strip-shaped chiseling marks left on exposed huge rocks that have not yet been split. These marks are 6–12 centimeters long, 3–8 centimeters wide, and 5–10 centimeters deep. The number of marks varies depending on the size of the rock. These marks were likely made for placing wedges to split the rocks. Second, after the application of wedges, the huge rocks were split into two or three pieces, forming slabs or chunks that remain in place, prepared for further processing into strip-shaped stones. Third, the stones that have already been processed into strip- or column-shaped forms. Some of the split stones have been moved, but most remain in their original positions, split along the seams and arranged in groups or rows on both sides, scattered throughout the mountains. The discovery and preservation of the Lulong Hongshan Great Wall Quarry Site hold significant value for the study of the Ming Great Wall.

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Cultural Relics Protection Units of Hebei Province