Gaozhuang, Hebei
In order to cover up the evidence of the crime, the luxurious royal tomb was burned by ancient tomb robbers. Are there any treasures inside? Who is the owner of the tomb? The excavation process is full of surprises. The final result was beyond everyone's expectations. It turned out that the owner of the tomb was him. Excavation of the Han Tomb in Gaozhuang.
Discovery - the incident of looting cultural relics
Time went back to May 1991, two cooks from a certain unit of the People's Liberation Army, stationed at the foot of Phoenix Mountain in Huolu County, Shijiazhuang City (now Luquan City , Zhang Wenwu and Zhu Wutang went out to purchase as usual. When they passed by a brick factory not far from the camp, they found a group of people gathered together. For some reason, the two enthusiastic soldiers planned to mediate the conflict. However, when I got closer, I found that they were clearly looting some cultural relics dug out of the soil collection pit. Seeing this scene, the two soldiers immediately stepped forward to stop them. There were more than 30 people involved in the looting of cultural relics at the scene at that time. Just as they were about to make a fortune, two soldiers suddenly appeared, meddling in other people's business. Some of them were of course unwilling to accept it and threatened, "If you want to stop it again, I will smash this cultural relic." Faced with this situation, the two soldiers hurriedly reported to the regiment leaders. The troops immediately sent troops to stop them. In the end, the farce of looting cultural relics was over, and all the cultural relics were confiscated and handed over to the Huolu Cultural Administration Office. There are more than 20 pieces in total, including pots, tripods, silver spoons, etc.
Zhang Wenwu and Zhuwutang went out to purchase
A total of more than 30 people participated in the looting of cultural relics on the spot
Immediately, the county cultural management office reported to the Municipal Cultural Relics Bureau. Both parties formed an archaeological team to conduct a small-scale excavation and cleaning of the places where cultural relics were found. A total of 38 cultural relics were unearthed, including a phoenix bird cauldron, three silver basins, copper furnace, and five iron pots and .
Judging from the results of the cleaning, experts analyzed that this is likely to be a burial pit for a large tomb. Next, through preliminary exploration, they discovered a large area of rammed earth layer underground. It is very likely that there is a large tomb under the rammed earth. After
cleaned up the site, the archaeological experts were surprised by the preliminary analysis of these cultural relics. Ten of these 38 cultural relics are national first-class cultural relics. The period was the Western Han Dynasty.
Three silver basins
Who is the owner of the tomb?
Such a high-level cultural relic was unearthed in a burial pit alone. So, it is conceivable how luxurious the tomb itself should be.
After careful cleaning, archaeological experts found an inscription on a copper tripod cover, and wrote "Food official tripod (cover), weighing nine kilograms, and the results are in 29 years" . Then what does the "food officials" do?
All Chinese dynasties have special official positions in charge of royal food affairs, collectively known as "food officials" , such as " imperial kitchen " of in the Qing Dynasty. In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, in the "Zhou Li. Tianguan" noted by Zheng Xuan , Confucian scholar, , in "The Master of Food and Officials", "The Master of Food and Officials." Although Food and Officials are not enough to govern the country and martial arts are not enough to maintain national stability, they are often regarded as the most important type of official position, and food is the best. The "Zhou Li" classifies "food officials" as "heaven officials", which is proof.
Changshan Food Official
"Food official calves (cover), weighing nine pounds, and it has been effective for twenty-nine years"
"Food official calves" unearthed, indicating that the owner of the tomb is at least a prince. But who is this prince ? What is his title?
is really a place to search for it without any effort.
With the further cleaning of archaeological experts, an inscription was found on a pot (known as Zhong in ancient times), and the book "Changshan Food Official" was written. This shows that the owner of the tomb is a prince named "Changshan". This food bell with the inscription "Changshan" brought people into that turbulent era for a while.
History of the Western Han Dynasty: The curse on the title of "King Changshan"
King Changshan was one of the titles of the princes of the late Qin Dynasty and the Han Dynasty.However, in the Western Han Dynasty, this noble title seemed to have some kind of powerful curse. Almost every King of Changshan ended up with a tragedy of .
In 188 BC, Liu Bang's son, Emperor Hui of Han, was the king of Changshan. However, just two years later, Liu Buyi suddenly died. Emperor Hui of Han could only change his title of fourth son, , Liu Hong , to the King of Changshan. In 184 BC, Liu Hong, who had been the King of Changshan for two years, actually replaced his eldest brother, Liu Gong, and the throne of Changshan was replaced by his fifth brother, Liu Chao.
In theory, being an emperor should be a great luck. However, sadly, including Emperor Hui, the three emperors, the father and son, are just puppets of the Empress Dowager Lu Zhi . Huidi Liu Ying html died of illness at the age of 624. The former young emperor Liu Gong was assassinated by his grandmother because of complaints. He was only 8 years old. After being a puppet emperor for four years, Liu Hong, the younger emperor of the Hou, was brutally killed by the opposition, as a result of being affected by the destruction of the forces of Empress Lu, Lu, and Liu Chao, the fifth brother of Changshan, and Liu Wu, with his sixth brother, Liu Wu, on the pretext that he was not Hui's biological son.
In the TV series "The Legend of Chu and Han", Empress Lu
, including " Records of the Grand Historian ", most of which affirmed Empress Lu. During the fifteen years of her administration, she rested with the people and stabilized the society, laying the foundation for the "March of Wen and Jing". This woman in Chinese history who was the first woman to be a resident of the dynasty to promote was included in the Imperial Chronicle by Sima Qian.
Now, will one of them be buried in the tomb of Changshan King at the foot of Phoenix Mountain?
At this time, someone remembered the inscription of "Twenty-nine Years of Effect" on Bronze Cauldron . This became the key to speculating on the owner of the tomb.
By looking up historical materials, we learned that this Changshan King should be the Liu Shun of the Western Han Dynasty.
Liu Shun was the king of Changshan who was enfeoffed during the period of Emperor Jing of Han. Historical records record that he was "arrogant and lazy, often committing sexual misconduct, and repeatedly violated the law and banned ." But since Liu Shun was the most beloved son of Emperor Jing of Han (the 14th son) , Emperor Wu of Han later tolerated him, so he was the King of Changshan for 32 years. After Liu Shun passed away, his son Liu Bo succeeded to the throne. This time, the curse attached to the title of King Changshan broke out again, and Liu Bo was soon deposed for "personally raped and drunk alcohol, galloping on the street" during his mourning period. At this point, the title of King Changshan was not activated again until the Ming Emperor period of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
Han Wudi
In addition, Luquan was called Shiyi in ancient times.
According to "Historical Records of the Grand Historian·Zhao Shijia ", "Zhao attacked Zhongshan to take Shiyi, which was also part of Zhao State. The county was established during the Qin Dynasty, and Shiyi was under the jurisdiction of Julu County. During the Western Han Dynasty, Shiyi was under the jurisdiction of Changshan County, Hanzhong period, and Shiyi was once included in the Changshan State , which was granted by Emperor Jing of Han. "
Exploration - "Zhong" tomb tomb
Because the tomb is huge in scale and extremely high in specifications, the Hebei Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau immediately sent top experts to guide the excavation. Then a large-scale drilling was launched.
confirms that this is a king's tomb with the "medium" shape.
This tomb originally had a tall seal on it, but due to thousands of years of water and soil loss, only a 2.4-meter-high soil platform is left.
2.4 meters high earth platform -1
2.4 meters high earth platform -2
According to drilling, the archaeological team discovered this middle-shaped Han tomb, located at the center of the tomb entrance (tom chamber), 35.3 meters long from north to south and 33.8 meters wide from east to west, and is close to a square shape. On the central axis of the tomb chamber earthen walls on the east and west sides, a tomb passage extends out. Among them, although the part close to the ground has been damaged, the remaining part is still 41.4 meters and is about 6 meters wide. The tomb passage on the west side is a bit strange. The opening does not directly reach the ground. It is still 2.4 meters away from the current surface. It is less than 17 meters in length and about 5 meters wide. It seems that the construction has stopped working halfway.In addition, the eastern tomb passage is slope-shaped, while the western tomb passage is composed of 38 steps, which is significantly different from the middle-shaped tombs of the vassal states during the two weeks.
In addition to the tomb passage, special buildings that resemble corridors have been built around this Han tomb tomb chamber. The corridor is 4 meters wide and almost surrounds the entire tomb chamber, but leaves a gap in the center of the north and south sides. The burial pit that was discovered before was the part of the northeast corner of the corridor.
Tomb
Exploration to learn the structure of the tomb
The ancients "die death is like life", and after death, they should have the same enjoyment as before they died. By the Western Han Dynasty, under the control of this concept, people were no longer satisfied with just burying a large amount of daily necessities and gold and silver treasures. Even the living environment in another world has begun to be more particular. The Western Han Dynasty happened to be a period of transition from earth pit wooden coffin tombs to complex stone chambers and brick chambers. As the tomb of a yin house, gradually moving closer to the yang house, the corridor is a good example.
is officially excavated - the fire-burning tomb chamber
In November 1991, archaeological experts from various provinces, cities and counties gathered in Gaozhuang , and the excavation of Gaozhuang Han Tomb officially began.
excavated a large earth-sealed tomb. The first task is to clean up the sealed tomb. However, the excavation just started and an accident happened. During the process of cleaning up the soil, archaeological team members discovered two burglar holes, , located above the north and east of the tomb chamber.
Two thieves
Originally, archaeological team members thought that so many cultural relics appeared in the corridors only one meter away from the surface, and this tomb should be well preserved. However, the appearance of the two thieves undoubtedly poured a basin of cold water on the archaeological team members. But what worried the archaeological team was whether these two thieves had penetrated the coffin chamber and how much damage it would have been to the tomb?
Because it is a large tomb with a large "middle" shape, the soil volume is huge, and the cleaning of the seal continued until the spring of 1992. Just as the archaeological team members were worried about the situation of the hole stolen, another unexpected situation followed one after another.
Because the location of the tomb is within the scope of the land contracted by the brick and tile factory, the excavation work has encountered great resistance. At the critical moment, the local garrison in Phoenix Mountain once again extended a helping hand and took on the work of guarding the tomb.
1992 The cleaning of the mound of the Han tomb in Gaozhuang could only be carried out intermittently.
It was not until early 1993 that after the efforts of all parties, the conflict was finally resolved and the excavation of the tomb was started again.
Wait for the sealing to be cleaned up, and then the soil in the tomb chamber is cleaned. To reach the depths of the tomb, you must clear the tomb seal. But the accident came again. Archaeological team members found that the soil in the tomb was very hard. The tomb had been burned, and the soil inside was burned into brick red and turned into clay blocks. The soil inside
was burned into bricks and red
According to historical records, in prehistoric period, the ancestors sometimes piled firewood and grass inside and outside the houses with wooden bones and mud walls to form braised house , which was the largest pottery at that time and the most luxurious residence.
Could it be that Gaozhuang Han Tomb also uses this technology?
Because the tomb soil is too hard, the excavation progress is extremely slow. But as the excavation continued to deepen, the archaeological team members found that the situation was a little bad. Because the lower the ground, the harder the harder the soil will be, and the soil will be formed into a piece. Obviously, the center point of the tomb burning should be the coffin chamber deep in the earthen turret.
The tomb was burned so seriously, it seems that the wooden burial tools, including the coffin, have turned into ashes. However, when the excavation finally approached the coffin chamber, what people saw was not the charcoal cover plate after burning, but some heavy stone slabs that were horizontal and vertical. So, what happened to the large number of stones appear in the earth pit tomb? It turned out that it was a stone coffin chamber built in the earth pit tomb. It was built of red sand shale stone. The specifications of each stone are 70 cm long, 35 cm wide and 7-12 cm thick, which is equivalent to stone bricks.
The system of the emperor - stone coffin
Use stone slabs to replace wooden boards to build a coffin chamber. Even in , the prosperous Han and Tang dynasties, it is exclusive to high-level nobles. In the history of archaeological excavations, there are few stone coffins unearthed. It can be said that each one is a rare national treasure. According to historical records, only first-rank officials or members of the royal family can enjoy it. It is worth noting that the stone coffins unearthed in the past all appeared in the later during the Sui and Tang Dynasties. The Han Tomb of Gaozhuang belonged to the Western Han Dynasty, and in the early Western Han Dynasty, including before the Han Dynasty, there were wooden coffin chambers.
When the stone coffin appeared in the Gaozhuang tomb, the archaeological team members were all ecstatic, thinking that even if the tomb was robbed and excavated, as long as the stone coffin could be integrated, the excavation could be called a success. However, when people carefully looked at these stone coffin boards, they regretfully found that they had been destroyed in the fire that was a thousand years ago.
Use stone slabs to replace wooden boards to build a coffin chamber-1
Use stone slabs to replace wooden boards to build a coffin chamber-2
Shale strip stone
shale strip stone
shale strip stone
shale tomb in Gaozhuang Han Tomb is shale strip stone. This composition is complex and contains carbonate . Under high temperature forging, it will explode due to overflowing gas. The tallest southwest corner of the Gaozhuang Han Tomb is still 4.82 meters. But the lowest point is only 1.5 meters. During the excavation, the archaeological team members did not even dare to clean the soil between the stone coffin and the tomb wall. Because without their support, the stone coffin wall panels that were as thick as three layers were most likely to collapse.
The inner frame of this coffin chamber is 15 meters long from east to west and 12 meters north to south.
Judging from the traces of wood ash burned on the scene, there should be a wooden coffin inside. The specific situation has long since turned into ashes as the coffin chamber is burned.
After this fire that burned the stone coffin chamber, except for the ashes, the tomb chamber was empty. This should be a means by which the tomb robbers looted the tomb chamber in order to cover up their crimes.
A fire
turned into ashes
Tomb interior
Tomb fire imagination
So, what era was it stolen?
What is puzzled is why the tomb robbers burn the treasure after they robbed the treasure? With the thick smoke rolling, aren’t they afraid of being discovered?
However, as the place of four wars, Hebei has experienced many major wars since Han Dynasty . The late Han Dynasty, Southern and Northern Dynasties , and Five Dynasties are often described as Chiye Qianli. The stolen Han tomb in Gaozhuang may have occurred during these periods.
In fact, although cases of setting fire after tomb robbery are rare, they are not unique in the history of archaeological excavations. Judging from the two robbery holes in the Han tomb in Gaozhuang, it should be done by an individual. However, why did the wooden burial tools in the stone coffin of Gaozhuang Han Tomb, buried 11 meters deep underground, be burned to ashes? It shouldn't be burned so thoroughly.
The severely damaged parts of the stone coffin wall are close to the thieves
At the tomb site, the archaeological team found a detail that the severely damaged parts of the stone coffin wall are close to the thieves thieves . The tomb chamber was burned at an underground depth of 11 meters, and it was so thorough that the two thieves located diagonally diagonally were indispensable, which eventually led to the stone coffin melting and collapse under high temperatures. Because only in this way can air convection be formed, the stone coffin located near the thief cave is naturally damaged the most severely. But, the problem arises again. Will the two robbers be the cause of a group of tomb robbers? Why do they risk being discovered and dig two thieves at the same time? Is it just for the convenience of setting fire after robbery? This seems illogical. Tomb robbers just want to make money and take treasures and leave. Why do they still have to "take off their pants and put them on PIs - this is a waste of time"? Perhaps, there is another possibility, that is, after the tomb was robbed for the first time, the second group of tomb robbers dug another robber into the tomb chamber, and searched through the tomb chamber but gained nothing. In anger, they set fire to vent their anger.
Nine out of ten chambers of the Han tomb are empty. Has it come true again?
Then why do you say that the Han tomb is "nine out of ten rooms" are empty?
Chen Lin In the article "Expression to Yuzhou for Yuan Shao", said: "And Liang Xiaowang , the mother of the late emperor Kun, the tomb is honored and visible; the pine and cypress in the hometown are still suitable for solemnity and respect.Cao's generals and soldiers came to excavate, broke the naked body of the coffin, and plundered the gold treasure. The great dynasty is about to shed tears and the people are sad! Cao also specially appointed the General of the Central Army and the Chief of the Mojin School, and the enemy was exposed wherever he passed. "
The records of robbing tombs of Cao Cao mainly come from this article, namely "Faqiu Zhonglang General and Mojin Cunwei". In addition, the political situation in the late Eastern Han Dynasty was chaotic, the world was turbulent, and the entire society was on the verge of collapse, which also caused serious damage to the Han tombs. "White bones were exposed in the wild, and no rooster crowed thousands of miles away." In this chaotic environment, the entire society lost its basic morality and order, and robbing tombs and digging was inevitable.
In addition, when Dong Zhuo moved the capital, he also robbed the Han Dynasty imperial tombs.
Dong Zhuo
According to the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty: Biography of Dong Zhuo", Dong Zhuo was a good dynasty. When facing the attack of heroes in the world, he took Emperor Xian of Han and moved the capital to Chang'an . Before leaving, he burned the palaces and houses of Luoyang , forcibly immigrated millions of people in Luoyang, and ordered Lu Bu to dig out the tombs of the Han emperors, royal relatives, nobles, officials and officials in Luoyang.
Sometimes, local guards would open the tombs and take their materials to strengthen the city defense. During the Three Kingdoms period, in the history book " Wei Lue ", Wei general Hao Zhao said: "I am a general, but I know that the general cannot be done. I took several tombs to take the woods to attack and fight, and I also knew that a burial was of no use to the deceased. You must take it with your time. And there is a place for life, where is the death? Now I go to my tomb far, east, west, south, north, and only in you. "
Thus, it eventually led to the tragic fate of "nine out of ten rooms" of the Han tomb.
It's pitiful, this Liu Shun , who has been a prince of peace for 32 years, still failed to escape the misfortune brought by the title of the King of Changshan - robbery and fire.
2,000 years have passed, and the reason why the Han tomb in Gaozhuang was burned is long gone. But for the archaeological team members who have worked hard for more than a year, they are indeed unwilling to accept it. Although they had ominous premonition and psychological preparation when cleaning the soil, the scene in front of them is still unacceptable and depressed.
Gaozhuang Tomb
Inside the coffin chamber The ashes remained, and the stone coffin could not be repaired due to serious damage. This large tomb in front of me, which is in the stage of transformation from a wooden coffin tomb tomb to be used to provide more precious historical materials. However, the reality is so cruel.
According to archaeological experts, the wooden coffin chamber in this Han tomb is huge, and it is likely to be the burial system of yellow intestine entitlement .
The excavation of the tomb chamber of the Gaozhuang Han tomb is regrettable. At this time, people can only hope for the outer corridor (external coffin) where many cultural relics were discovered before, hoping to make some achievements. According to further inference by archaeologists, only the shallowest outer corridor from the surface has not been stolen. As mentioned earlier, htm was found in the northeast corner of the corridor. l538 cultural relics , of which there are more than 10 national first-class cultural relics. So, will the other corners bring new surprises to people?
Huangyan Intestines
Dayunshan Han Tomb Huangyan Intestines
This reminds me of the excavation of " Dayunshan Han Tomb ". The tomb chamber is also empty, but tens of thousands of precious cultural relics were found in the outer coffin of Huangyan Intestines , and its luxury is dazzling. Will Gaozhuang Han Tomb be so lucky? Will the excavation of two consecutive years end like this? That fire , How many national treasures have been burned? The excavation of the corridor of
- Princess' Tomb
Han Tomb of Gaozhuang was burned to pieces by a fire, leaving no valuable information. However, archaeological team members found an iron axe on the scene . From this, it was judged that the tomb robbed should have occurred a long time ago. But the specific time of the robbery was Song, Yuan, or even longer, and it is difficult to determine. "Su Shen Ji" written by
Gan Bao (280-336, 6 people from Xincai, Henan) said: "In February of the fourth year of Jian'an in the Han Dynasty, Li E, a woman from Wuling Chong County, was 60 years old and died of illness and was buried outside the city for fourteen days.Ebi's house has Cai Zhong . When she heard that E was rich, she said that there should be gold treasures in the funeral, so she stole the tomb and asked for gold and cut off the coffin with an axe. "
can be inferred from this that the Han tomb of Gaozhuang was stolen before and after Eastern Han ? The same tools and the same methods of committing crimes. After the excavation of the tomb chamber was futile, the archaeological team members had to turn their attention to the periphery of the tomb, hoping to gain something. On the north side of Liu Shun's tomb, there is a tall mound of seals. Archaeological experts speculate that it may be Liu Shun's tomb , the same tomb and different caves, and it also conforms to the Han Dynasty burial system and is numbered It is Tomb No. 2.
The tomb of the emperor of the Western Han Dynasty continued the burial system of the couple's different caves in the pre-Qin period. The level of Tomb No. 2 is similar to Tomb No. 1, and also has a corridor and a stone coffin, but the scale is slightly smaller. Unfortunately, due to a special reason, this tomb cannot be excavated for the time being. Because, on this tomb, a water tower for troops was built for the troops.
Liu Shun's tomb of the concubine
Gaozhuang Han Tomb, a One of them was stolen and could not be excavated, but strangely, there were no other remains of the same period around the two tombs. There were neither burial tombs nor cemetery sites.
The tombs of the emperors of the Han Dynasty had huge cemeteries, such as bedding gardens and temples, for future generations to sacrifice and guard the tombs. However, the strange phenomenon of the Han tomb in Gaozhuang happened to be in line with the experience of the tomb owner Liu Shun and the national conditions of the Changshan Kingdom. After all, Liu Shun's son Liu Bo was deposed because of "private rape and drinking, riding a horse and galloping on the street" during the mourning period. The fiefdom no longer exists, so naturally There is no need to build a hut to guard the tomb.
At the beginning of the excavation of the Han tomb in Gaozhuang, people focused on the tomb chamber. However, the excavation of the tomb chamber was found, and the excavation of the tomb passage was also in progress. During the excavation of the tomb passage, the situation continued. The tomb passage is located on the east side of the tomb pit and is slope-shaped, so the western half of its part is deeper near the tomb chamber. But the tomb passage is very uneven, as if it was raised again in the later stage. What is the reason?
There is a circle of iron hoops outside
A wooden pillar is placed in the middle
At this moment, the archaeological team members accidentally discovered a special cultural relic with a strange appearance and a huge size. On the slope at the bottom of the tomb passage, a wooden pillar is placed in the middle. Underground nearly 10 meters deep, this wooden pillar with a length of 25 meters and a diameter of nearly 40 cm at the root has decayed. But what is confusing is that this pillar has been artificially decorated and there is a circle of iron hoops on the outside. So, what is this wooden pillar for? Why should it be placed on the deep tomb passage? It has become a mystery to this day. The excavation of the corridor of
- Northwest corner
Changshan King Liu Shun died in 113 BC. At this time, the founding of the Western Han Dynasty was less than a hundred years ago. The Gaozhuang Han Tomb in front of me not only turned into a stone coffin, but also a corridor appeared. Since it is still in the process of evolution, this corridor is more like a circular trench, and the width and depth of the earth pit are not unified, but the walls and bottom of the pit have been repaired.
The corridor of the Gaozhuang Han Tomb, 046 cultural relics were unearthed from the northeast corner, which were originally placed in a wooden box. Because the burial was too shallow and the environment in the north was dry, the utensils had already rotted into ashes during the repeated dry and wet process. However, in the south, these wooden boxes were preserved in a humid environment and were basically intact as before. For example, the large number of lacquerware unearthed in the Han Tomb of Dayun Mountain, with bright colors and clear patterns. Groundwater plays a crucial role in the protection of cultural relics. What these cultural relics buried deep in the ground are most afraid of is the repeated changes in dry and wet, which is very fatal to wooden cultural relics. Therefore , which also made it difficult to unearth complete wooden cultural relics in the north, and at most some patent leather were found.
At most some patent leather - 1
After the archaeological team cleaned the surface of the wood ash in the northwest corner of , a large number of burial objects were exposed. A rough figure showed that there were hundreds of pieces, mainly pottery. At the end of the corridor, several bronzes were found.These pottery wares are huge and exquisite in shape. Some are painted on them, and some are also attached with a layer of tin coats on them, which should be used as daily and kitchen supplies. This corridor consists of two large wooden boxes, which are 3.4 meters wide and nearly 20 meters long. And these wooden boxes are the evolutionary form of yellow intestines and coffin .
Bronze
Stone mill
Pottery
Excavation of the corridor - Southwest corner
The southwest corner is different from the other two corners. The eastern section is also curved, with a width of 4 meters, and the western section is 8 meters wide and 5 meters deep. As mentioned earlier, there are partitions in the middle of the corridor, so the curved ruler is composed of two outer coffin wooden boxes horizontally and vertically. But in the southwest corner, for some reason, the north-south outer coffin became two side by side. The archaeological team composed the two outer coffins in the northwest corner into No. 1 and No. 2, and the southwest corner was 3, 4 and No. 5 in sequence. It has different functions as the large Chu Tomb side boxes. If the outer coffins of No. 1 and No. 2 form a kitchen together, the outer coffin of No. 3 is the garage of the Han Tomb of Gaozhuang.
Archaeological team members cleared out three cars and 14 horses from this tomb coffin. The decorative objects on vehicles and horses are all gilded bronzes, which look particularly magnificent. Some pottery basins were also placed on the east side. Unlike some tombs that use underworld tools instead, the chariots and horses buried with Han tombs in Gaozhuang are fully equipped with umbrellas, which are completely for people to ride. It is impossible for ordinary people to use real cars and horses to bury them.
horse carriage
horse bone
14 horses plus three cars, plus three painted wooden figures, forming a small fleet. They are ready for "travel" and are always waiting for the owner's orders, but this "travel" is long and there is no return date. In this small queue, walking ahead is the ceremonial guard used to open the way, and they demonstrate the master's majesty. A military vehicle was also found, with weapons, which was the safety of the convoy. Following closely behind was the gorgeously decorated car, the tomb owner's own car was definitely the most luxurious means of transportation at that time. The third car has a wide body and should be for the wife and maid to ride. The situation of the outer coffin of No. 3 can be summarized as the soldiers lead the way, the master lives in the middle, and the wife and the maid are closely following each other. The outer coffin of
4 is all lacquered wood. Due to the changes in dry and wet, the wood body has long decayed. These originally exquisite lacquered wares are now only mottled patent leather. The archaeological team members cannot even know their number and shape, which is a pity. The outer coffin of
5 is still used to store wooden cultural relics. There are many terracotta horses and human figurines, but all of them have decayed.
The original exquisite lacquerware
excavation of the corridor - the southeast corner
The southeast corner and the northeast corner are on the same side, both were destroyed during the brick factory's soil collection process, but fortunately, the outer coffin is still well preserved. In the outer coffin No. 6 located here, archaeological team members discovered nine carriages equipped with gilded bronze ornaments, but the body was obviously much smaller and should be an underworld weapon.
When cleaning the outer coffin of No. 7, no one was found. Was it stolen? But judging from the soil quality and color, there is no trace of stealing. So, where did the objects in the outer coffin of No. 7 go? It turned out that this is the bathroom of the tomb owner, and because it has never been used, it is naturally empty. Many large pottery jars for storing grain were found in the outer coffin of
9. The ancients "die as if they were alive", so this should be a granary. Animal bones were also found inside, including chickens and dogs.
Restoration of cultural relics - killing horses and taking bones
For restoration work, archaeological experts spent four or five months, and three of them became the focus of restoration. In order to accurately copy the horse's bones, a live horse was specially bought, killed and retrieved, and copied them in comparison. The four-year archaeological excavation of the tomb,
, has finally come to an end. From being discovered by chance in May 1991 to ending field work in June 1994, the excavation of the Han Tomb in Gaozhuang was full of twists and turns. There are regrets and joys in this. For archaeological team members, moreover, they can travel through more than 2,000 years of history, be close to the ancients, and experience the ever-changing era with an inexplicable pleasure.
Kill the horse and take the bones
I have to say regret, if this tomb is in the south, those amazingly gorgeous lacquerware and wooden artifacts will be well preserved and presented to the world. Especially the luxurious horse-drawn carriage with three chariots inlaid with gold and silver is even more important. However, there is no if.
But even so, the Gaozhuang Han Tomb finally cleared more than 7,000 precious cultural relics of all sizes, which shocked the world.
Parts of cultural relics:
