China: Explore ancient tombs

Inside the ancient tomb (Photo: Xinhua)

On November 14, Ha Nam Provincial Department of Antiquities said that the grave site of Quach village in Thuong Thai district that they discovered was a grave site of the rare life, a large number of beautiful artifacts are still preserved. Perfect, including a round green top lid, mouth diameter of 80cm, this top weighs only less than the cauldron peak at the Tomb of U U Vuong.

The owner of this grave is probably a noble noble who was ordained by the King's Department or a native district.

The grave of Quach village in Thuong Thai district is 3 km from the ancient city of Thuong Thai to the east.

The ancient burial area is always the target of the stealing ward, so after being approved by the National Antiquities Department, Ha Nam archaeological research room excavated the grave site.

Historically, the country existed since the end of the Spring and Fall period to the beginning of the Warring States period (*), but there was little information in the ancient literature about the country.

During this excavation, there were two burial tombs in the direction of North and North, grave in the East, grave grave with the shape of Armor. Tomb 1 is the main grave, located in the south, is a large sandstone tomb, buried deep below 2m of soil.

At the mouth of the tomb, the length in the East-West direction is 25m, the width in the North-South direction is 17m, about 18m deep, in all four corners, there is a special way up and down stairs.

The top of the grave is filled with soil about 7m thick, below is a layer of fine sand about 10 meters thick, this is a rare sandy grave in China. Guo was buried in the sand and there was a trace of the item, there was a collapse.

Wood Guo is 12m long, 7.4m wide, about 3m high. On the citadel there are red painted patterns on a black background and decorated with gold-coated copper pieces, pearl pieces .

The anti-theft design of the grave is very perfect, so although it has been stolen about 12 times from the past to the present, the part of the tomb is only about half dug, there are still many precious artifacts like 5 round peaks. with lid, 2 mirrors with ears are 4 dragons, 2 square warmer . and other bronze items.

The second tomb is located in the north, this is also a large grave, the shape is the same as the first tomb, the length in the East-West direction is 16.5m; width in the North-South direction is 11m; about 11m deep buried in the soil.

This grave certainly has an association with the first grave, according to the speculation of the experts, this is the grave of the couple.

Chinese burial custom is the target of stealing and digging ancient objects for generations. During the excavation process, archaeologists found traces of 12 times of stealing, in which the first stealing was around the time of Han Dynasty, because they found fragments of bricks painted in Han Dynasty. .

Due to the good anti-theft design, so in 12 times of being dug, only two times the thief dug up to the bottom of the grave because the grave was deepened to 18m, the second was due to the unique shape of the grave, the grave-shaped grave loudspeaker, 8-10m wide, 30m long, covered with soil.

The normal sloping tunnels can all reach the grave bottom, the bottom of this tunnel is about 5 meters from the top, so it is not easy to follow this path to the bottom.

In terms of anti-theft principles of gravel and sand, or where coal is used instead of stone, it is mainly to prevent moisture and sand to prevent theft. When the thief digs into this area, where to dig sand will constantly flow down there, the sand will flow along with stones from a few kilos to about 150kg to fill the path.

The owner of the grave is still a mystery. Because the grave is near the ancient citadel of Thailand, Thailand has established its capital for 500 years and undergone ten kings, so it is speculated that this is the grave of the Thai king, there is speculation that this is a grave. of the noble of the State or of the Minister of the Prime Minister.

According to experts, the tomb is located in the Thai region of the West Chu period, this is an important vassal state, but later it was annexed by the Department of State and assigned to be the Chief of Staff.

Excavation of this ancient tomb will bring important documents and evidence for studying the culture and history of the country.

Tuyet Nhung ( According to CRI )