Successfully restored 2,800-year-old chariot encrusted with thousands of gems

A team of archaeologists restored the original appearance of an expensive Western Zhou-era chariot, wrapped in bronze and encrusted with 10,000 turquoise.

The 3m-wide chariot, born around 800 BC, during the Western Zhou Dynasty, was discovered near the first capital of this dynasty in present-day Shaanxi province. The carriage ran on two wooden wheels with a bronze frame, decorated with many carvings of metal and precious stones.

" This is the most luxurious chariot from the Western Zhou period that we have ever dated," Professor Wang Liqin and colleagues at the School of Cultural Heritage at Northwestern University commented in the journal article. of the school (Natural Science Edition) on October 20.

The shape of the front of the carriage. (Photo: SCMP).

What surprised the researchers most was the existence of 10,000 pieces of turquoise , one of the most valuable stones of the Bronze Age. Wang's research team spent many hours working with the aid of advanced scientific equipment to understand the elaborate and delicate process of decorating the carriage. The carriage consists of more than 400 bronze details, in which the craftsmen make many precise holes to attach decorative materials. In addition, each gemstone is also completely cut and polished to fit into the bronze detail.

When discovered in 2014 in Ha Giai, a village on the outskirts of Bao Ke city, the carriage was so shabby that it was mistaken for a relatively common vehicle used to carry goods or as a combat weapon. The excavation site is located in a fertile field that was once the first capital of the Zhou Dynasty. The Zhou Dynasty overthrew the Shang around 1046 BC and reigned for nearly 800 years, longer than any other dynasty in Chinese history.

Archaeologists unearthed a large number of artifacts and materials in the area, including bone inscriptions, factories, and the foundations of pyramid-like structures. But around 700 BC, at the end of the Western Zhou Dynasty, invasions of nomadic tribes from the west forced the Zhou emperor to retreat eastward, leaving behind many strongholds, including the ancient excavation site. horse wagon.

The archaeological team found the site when examining aerial photographs of farmland and found that the rice field grew faster than elsewhere in the field, indicating that there was an object buried underneath. Wang's group is still trying to find out the owner of the carriage. They speculated that this person belonged to the ruling class in society. In addition to the decoration costs, the researchers also discovered the carcasses of 4 black horses buried in front of the carriage and 4 red horses nearby, proving that this person must be able to bear the cost of buying and raising two teams. different horses.

Chariots with spokes wheels appeared on the steppes in present-day Russia and Ukraine about 4,000 years ago. The medium was widely used in ancient times. Most of the ancient chariots excavated were very small and light, designed for high speed and maneuverability, so chariots in Shaanxi larger than modern cars are rare.