Archaeologist unearths strange 'dragon' in field, expert: 'Report to police as soon as possible'

By accident, the archaeologist found a "dragon" with an extremely strange appearance. Upon seeing it, the group of experts decided to call the police.

Strange "dragon" appears in ancient tomb

In 1959, a farmer in Daohua Village, Shilou County, Luxiang City, Shanxi Province, China, was plowing his field with his buffalo when he discovered a black hole in the ground. After examining it, the farmer realized it was an ancient tomb, so he reported it to the local Cultural Relics Department.

While waiting for the archaeological team to arrive, some locals climbed down into the tomb to search for the treasure. However, before they could get inside, they suddenly saw the soil beneath the tomb was red as blood . Too scared, they ran away and did not dare to look back.

Archaeologists found various bronze objects in the ancient tomb. (Photo: Sohu).

When the Shanxi Provincial Archaeological Team came and inspected, they confirmed that this tomb was large in scale and of high standard. There was a lot of cinnabar inside the tomb, which is why the soil was blood red. The ancient tomb belonged to the Shang-Zhou period and dates back about 3,000 years ago .

After more than 20 days and nights of non-stop excavation, archaeologists found more than 50 bronze objects from the Shang and Zhou dynasties in this ancient tomb. They include a complete set of bells, 7 bronze tripods and many other large and small bronze objects. Based on the excavated objects, the archaeological team judged that this was an aristocratic tomb from the late Shang to Zhou dynasties.

After classifying the cultural relics, something unexpected happened. (Photo: Sohu).

A month later, the archaeological team had finished sorting out the excavated cultural relics and packing them into crates. The next step was to transport them to the lab for cleaning and restoration.

Just as they were about to leave, it suddenly started to rain heavily. One archaeologist suddenly remembered that there was still something in the tomb that had not been moved out. He and another person braved the rain to carry it out. At this time, the rain became heavier and heavier, and the water in the ancient tomb also increased. After a while, the water was up to their knees. The two people had to grope their way step by step. Suddenly, one of them tripped over something under his feet and almost fell. Luckily, a colleague next to him caught him in time.

A "dragon" made of precious bronze has been found. (Photo: Sohu).

This person felt very strange, he thought to himself: "If everything has been cleaned up, then what is left in this tomb?" He put his hand into the water and groped for a while, and finally dug out something that he could never forget. That thing was a " dragon"  made of bronze, it had sharp teeth that looked quite ferocious.

Too surprised, he held the dragon and ran out shouting: " Hey, I found a treasure, everyone come and see" . The other archaeologists who were busy carrying luggage heard the call and stopped their work. They gathered around to see and saw that this bronze dragon had a very strange shape, with intricate patterns that they had never seen before. An expert immediately said: "Call the police as soon as possible because there may still be antiques underneath".

To prevent the remaining valuable cultural relics from being stolen, the archaeological team immediately filed a request with the local police department to protect the site. Shortly after, a group of police officers arrived and took turns guarding the tomb.

Close-up of the unique pattern carved on the "dragon's" body. (Photo: Sohu).

After inspection, the dragon was actually a green bronze vase. It was 43 cm long and 13 cm wide. The dragon's belly was curved and bulging, its tail was cut flat, and there was an umbrella-shaped hook on its back. The dragon looked like a dragon boat anchored in the middle of the water with a very unique shape.

The archaeological team all confirmed that they had never seen a dragon like this. Based on the decoration style of this cultural relic, they believe that this bronze dragon is a wine jar from the Shang Dynasty . Not only that, it is also made of green bronze. Given the material and age of this wine jar, experts said that its value is not small, it can be considered a national treasure. They named it "Long hinh quang" (meaning dragon-shaped wine jar).

The surprising origin of the strange "dragon"

In order to find the origin of the "Dragon Shape Light" , the archaeological team collected clues all over the country. Finally, they found its owner. It turned out that the owner of this wine bottle was Jiang Ziya 's father- in-law. Jiang Ziya was a founding hero of the Zhou Dynasty in the 12th century BC and the founding monarch of the Qi State, which existed from the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Warring States Period in Chinese history.

Legend has it that when Jiang Ziya was serving the King of Zhou, he held a banquet at home to welcome the king. Food and wine were served, and King Wu of Zhou was attracted by a wine jar. This wine jar was shaped like a dragon, hanging in the middle of the house by a rope. Its posture was full of pride, just by slightly lifting the dragon's tail, good wine would flow out of its mouth.

King Wu of Zhou liked this dragon-shaped wine jar very much, so he asked Jiang Ziya where it came from. Unexpectedly, Jiang Ziya found all sorts of excuses to refuse to tell about the origin of the wine jar. King Wu of Zhou was so angry that he stood up and demanded to leave. Jiang Ziya hastily explained that his father-in-law had made this wine jar to pray for the innocent people who were massacred by King Zhou. Later, Jiang Ziya's father-in-law gave this wine jar to him. When his father-in-law passed away, Jiang Ziya buried this wine jar in his tomb.

This bronze "dragon" has been recognized as a national treasure and has been banned from being displayed abroad. (Photo: Sohu).

Thus, archaeologists have determined that the owner of the ancient tomb found in Son Tay is Jiang Ziya's father-in-law . This tomb and the things found have great research value for archaeologists.

As for the dragon-shaped wine bottle, it was later classified as a national cultural relic by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage. It was also banned from being displayed abroad. Currently, it is displayed as a treasure in the main hall of the Shanxi Museum.