A major breakthrough in archaeology in the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang! The mysterious golden camel came out, netizens: When did you dig the Tomb of the First Emperor?

It is not an exaggeration to say that the whole world is waiting to dig the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, wanting to see how many treasures there are in the underground palace of the first emperor Qin Shi Huang, and are there any institutions? I believe everyone is very curious about these questions. In fact, our country does not actively excavate the tomb of the first emperor. Therefore, the day when the underground palace of Qin Shihuang's mausoleum was opened is still far away.

If you don’t dig Qin Shihuang’s mausoleum, it does not mean that you will not study Qin Shihuang and his mausoleum. In recent years, on the western periphery of Qin Shihuang’s Mausoleum, archaeologists have discovered 9 large burial tombs. Among the 9 large tombs, 4 are "Chinese-shaped" large tombs with two tomb passages, and 5 are "A-shaped" large tombs with one tomb passage. This is a group of high-level tombs with extremely large scale and clear layout.

In 2013, the Qin Shihuang Mausoleum Museum reported to the State Administration of Cultural Heritage for approval, scientifically excavated the tomb numbered QLCM1 among the 9 tombs, and gained important archaeological and historical information. Today, let’s take a look at this archaeological project that was shortlisted for the 2019 National Top Ten Archaeological Discovery Candidate Project.

1. Excavation of Tomb No. 1

"This must be an amazing discovery!"

"This 金骆驼 really It’s so beautiful!”

“I’ve never seen 金骆驼 like this!”

“This 金骆驼 came from the west!”

"Does the owner of this tomb have anything to do with the Western Regions?"

The cultural relics unearthed from Tomb No. 1 excavated this time are too important. Although this tomb does not have hidden weapons or zombies and poisonous insects as written in the novel, the excavation process still made every archaeologist's heart raised his throat.

Approximately 440 meters west of the outer city of the Mausoleum of the First Emperor of Qin, there is the No. 1 burial tomb. has a total length of 100 meters and a total area of ​​1900 square meters, which is almost the size of five basketball courts. On both sides of the tomb, there are 3 burial pits.

After the archaeological team cleaned the arable soil on the surface of the tomb, they unfortunately discovered that the middle of the tomb had collapsed, and 5 robbery holes appeared on the tomb like scars, and 3 of them actually entered It is conceivable that the tomb has been stolen, and many precious cultural relics may have flowed into the black market forever.

Fortunately, the hateful tomb thieves did not completely "move" this tomb, and many precious historical information are still present before our eyes. The bottom of the tomb is about 15.6 meters deep from the surface, which is equivalent to 5 stories high. The construction of the tomb is also very elegant. First, a huge vertical pit was dug, and then a thick layer of charcoal was placed at the bottom to prevent moisture. Then lay the keel on top and then lay the floor. Finally put the coffin on the floor. After the coffin is placed, another 40 cm thick charcoal is laid on the coffin. The top of the charcoal layer is filled with soil and tamped firmly. Such layers of fortifications and constructions have formed this grand "underground world".

Cultural relics unearthed from the second and first tombs

The tomb is divided into a main chamber and a number of side boxes. A large number of exquisite funeral objects were unearthed from the side boxes. Let's talk about the east side box. There are a large number of pottery and bronze wares. The total number is more than 50. There are common Qin dynasties such as pots, pots, cocoon-shaped pots, and basins. The inscription "Yang" was also found on the shoulders of some utensils in . This may have some connection with the maker of the artifact.

There are some musical instruments and weapons in the south side box. This may be a symbol of the existence of the tomb ownerA warehouse for storing such items. The chimes are very exquisite, and some of the bronzes also have the words "Yuefu". It may be that the artifacts of the court Yuefu were awarded to the owner of the tomb, or it may be that the utensils made by the Yuefu were taken and enjoyed by the owner of the tomb.

The golden camel we mentioned earlier was unearthed from this side box. The golden camel has its head high, its two peaks are high, its four hooves are strong, and it is lifelike. It embodies the superb skills of the handicraftsmen of the Qin Dynasty, and also shows that the camel has entered the field of view of the people of the Qin Dynasty.

The side box on the west side is very regrettable. It was stolen very badly, and only a small amount of copper and pottery remained. However, careful archaeologists also found some lacquer leather in the fill, which should be traces of lacquer ware, indicating that this side box should be buried with lacquer ware during the burial, which is very rare.

In the west side corridor, there are still some jade artifacts, such as Yugui, jade bi, woven chime, etc. The ancients said: "Gentlemen, jade does not go away." These jade is a symbol of the status of the tomb owner, and it is likely to be a reward from the royal family. This shows that the owner of this high-level tomb buried on the side of Qin Shihuang's mausoleum is very noble. .

3. The value of Tomb No. 1

In archaeological excavations, there are always regrets, such as those cultural relics stolen by tomb thieves, such as text information about artifacts discovered Incompleteness and so on. For many extremely high-level tombs, even if tens of millions of cultural relics have been unearthed, the owner of the tomb is still unknown. Although the identity of the tomb's owner may never be known, the status and value of this tomb cannot be ignored.

The Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang is a group of tombs with complete planning. The funerary tomb also has a complete and independent cemetery, surrounded by trenches and natural river channels, which shows the rigorous planning and indicates that the relationship between the tomb owner and Qin Shihuang himself may be very close.

Secondly, the various cultural relics unearthed in the tombs, such as musical instruments, gold and silverware, pottery figurines, etc., are important materials for studying the lives and funeral rituals of the nobles in the Qin Dynasty. In addition, the golden camel discovered this time is extremely precious. It symbolizes the exchange between China and the Western Regions during the Qin Dynasty and provides physical support for cultural exchanges between China and the West.

文史君说

Tomb No. 1 of the Mausoleum of the First Emperor of Qin is the largest, highest-ranking and best-preserved large-scale tomb of the high-ranking nobles of the Qin Dynasty , filled The blank space of the high-level tombs of the Qin Dynasty is another major achievement of the archaeology of the Mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang.

Since the discovery of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of the First Emperor of Qin, to the bronze carriages and horses of the Qin Mausoleum, to the large burial tomb, the golden camel, and every discovery of the Mausoleum of the First Emperor Qin, will not disappoint. The Qin Dynasty is no longer the familiar and unfamiliar empire in the books, but as vivid as it is before his eyes.

References

Jiang Wenxiao: "Golden Camels Hidden at the Foot of Lishan Mountain in Many Giant Tombs Beside Ancestral Dragon Mausoleum-Large Companion Tomb of Emperor Qin Shihuang Mausoleum in Xi'an, Shaanxi", Wenbo China, April 27th.

Jiang Wenxiao: "Ten Major Archaeological Candidate Projects | Large-scale funerary tomb found in the Mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, Xi'an, Shaanxi", China Cultural Relics News, December 29, 2019.