After the release of archaeological information that the Jiangcun Tomb in Xi'an City is the tomb of Emperor Wen of Han, it has become a hot topic of public concern for a while. Many people have noticed that archaeologists have also introduced the information that the skeletons of animals such as golden snub-nosed monkeys, red-crowned cranes, and tortoises have been found in a small outer pit northwest of the Southern Tomb of Empress Bo, the mother of Emperor Wendi of Han.
Why bury precious animals in the mausoleum? What animals have been found? On December 15, a reporter from Huashang Daily interviewed archaeologists at the scene. According to reports, the small outer pit in the northwest of Nanling has found more than a dozen animal species, and in 1975, the skulls of giant pandas and rhinos were excavated here.
Giant pandas and rhinos have been found before, and this time twelve or three animals have been identified
According to the news on December 14, archaeologists have cleared a horse bone in two small outer pits in the southwest corner of the Jiangcun Tomb (that is, the tomb of Liu Hengba of the Han Dynasty), as well as plastic clay figurines, clay pots, clay pots, etc. In the northwest of nanling, the mother of Emperor Wen of Han, Empress Bo, 39 small outer pits have been excavated, some of which have exposed the bottom of the pottery coffin, which contains animal remains, and the preliminary identification of its species includes golden snub-nosed monkeys, red-crowned cranes, turtles, etc. Excavation work is currently underway.
On December 15, Researcher Hu Songmei, an expert in animal archaeology at the Shaanxi Provincial Archaeological Research Institute who participated in the archaeological excavation of the small outer pit in the northwest of Nanling, introduced that these small outer pits are about 200 meters northwest of Nanling, and the newly discovered animal species include tortoises, red-crowned cranes, as well as primates such as macaques and golden snub-nosed monkeys, as well as roe deer and hares. Birds of prey have eagles and eagles, as well as wild ducks. There are also domestic animals such as sheep, etc., but no cattle have been found.
"In 1975, giant panda skulls and rhinoceros skeletons were also found here. Our excavation was carried out next to the place where the giant panda skeleton was found, so the nature of these hidden pits is the same. A total of more than 380 pits were drilled, plus 24 pits excavated in 1975, for a total of more than 400 pits. On the basis of the previous discovery of giant pandas, rhinos and other animals, we have newly identified twelve or three kinds of animals this time, of which local animals are the mainstay. Since only 39 craters have been excavated, a small percentage, more will surely be discovered later. ”
"These pits buried animals in three forms: one is a clay coffin, which places birds in a pottery coffin similar to the shape of a cow trough; one is a brick fence, which usually contains animals, but birds are also found; and the other is made of wooden rafters, that is, the surrounding area is packed with wooden planks and then the animals are placed inside. The animals were neatly arranged, with no signs of struggle, and should have been killed before burial. At present, all that have been excavated are relatively small vertical pits. The next step may be to excavate some outer pits with rafters, and it is estimated that such outer pits may contain large animal skeletons. ”
The turtle found this time is a large tortoise, which should have come from The Southern Nagan
Researcher Hu Songmei introduced that allowing so many animals to be buried reflects the concept of the ancients that "things die as if they were born". The rare birds and animals that accompany the burial are all animal species in the royal garden, reflecting the identity of the tomb owner, and only people of the level of the emperor, empress and empress can enjoy such specifications.
"In fact, not only is the tomb of Empress Bo of such specifications, but there are also buried animals in the outer pit of the mausoleum of Empress Xia, the grandmother of Qin Shi Huang, in Chang'an District, where we found the long-extinct 'Imperial Gentleman Gibbon'." The funerary animals in the pit outside the cemetery are exotic animals in the south and rare birds in the north, and the rare birds are cranes, geese, giant swans, green peacocks, etc., and the green peacocks are certainly not local. ”
"The turtle found in the outer pit in the northwest corner of the Southern Tomb of Empress Bo this time is also not local, it is a tortoise, the tortoise shell is very thick, the size of the tortoiseshell alone is 52 centimeters, which has never been found in the Shaanxi region, and should be from the south. The rhinoceros previously found here should have been introduced from the south. Animals from more than two thousand years ago are not much different from animals today, but some animals may be extinct by now. ”
"Discovering these animals can not only help determine the identity of the owner of the tomb from the perspective of zooarchaeology, but also see the auspicious meaning of the ancients from these animal species, such as the turtle crane yannian and so on." I am looking forward to the appearance of swans, there are bronze swans in the Qinling Rare Bird Pit, which symbolizes elegance and loyalty to love, etc., and there may be such funerary animals near the tomb of Empress Bo. ”
"I hope to build a museum of animal bones in the ancient royal garden in the future"
Researcher Hu Songmei said that for animal archaeology, through the comparison and morphological analysis of the skeletons of these animals, it is also possible to provide archaeological evidence for the types of animals in the royal garden recorded in the literature.
"We found that the skeletons of these animals are very regularly distributed, mainly mammals in the west and birds in the east. It's like entering a zoo, with a bird area on one side and a beast area on the other. The bird area is also divided into wading birds, raptors, and pheasants running on the ground. Obviously, such placement partitions are planned in advance, and these distribution laws will be summarized in the future. We have a good wish to build a museum of animal bones in the ancient royal garden in the future. ”
Huashang Daily reporter Ma Huzhen (Courtesy of Shaanxi Archaeological Research Institute)