Although the divine turtle lives long, it is still timely; the snake rides the fog and eventually becomes the dust. The old Ji Futuo is determined to be in a thousand miles; the martyr is in his twilight years and his heart is full of strength. - Cao Cao, "Turtle Although Shou"
preface
In traditional Chinese culture, there has always been the worship of animals, and from many archaeological sources, the ancient people's worship of turtle culture can be traced back to the Neolithic Age. In ancient times, turtles had a certain divinity, and many divinations were also related to turtle shells, and until the Spring and Autumn Period, the status of turtles in people's hearts was still very sacred. The turtle is also called the four spirits along with the dragon, the phoenix and the unicorn, and only the turtle is real in these four species, coupled with the slow movement of the turtle, the turtle has become a symbol of longevity in the hearts of the ancients.
Torrential rain rushed out of the Western Han Dynasty tombs
Hubei has a long history, as early as the Xia Shang period there were many southern ethnic groups living here, so many ancient tombs have been found in Hubei. An ancient tomb of the Western Han Dynasty was once found in Hubei, and because of continuous torrential rains, this ancient tomb dating back thousands of years was washed out.
Because of the heavy rain, the ancient tomb has been more seriously damaged, and also found around the tomb robbery hole, out of the consideration of protecting cultural relics, the relevant local departments immediately anxious archaeologists to form an archaeological team, the Ancient Tomb of the Han Dynasty for rescue excavation, hoping to protect the cultural relics as much as possible.
The tomb was looted
Although the archaeological team had made psychological preparations before the rescue excavation, it was still very regrettable during the excavation process. Because of the intrusion of tomb robbers, the tomb of the Western Han Dynasty was robbed. After entering the burial chamber, several robbery holes were found, and there was not even a coffin left in the burial chamber.
Faced with such a situation, the archaeological team did not choose to leave immediately, but chose to stay and clean up the tomb, hoping to find some cultural relics with research value. Because the burial chamber is eroded by rainwater, the water needs to be cleaned up as soon as possible, otherwise the tomb is in danger of collapsing, and after the water in the tomb is cleared, excavation work begins.
Live turtles were found in the tombs
In the process of archaeological work, "living creatures" appeared in this ancient tomb of the Western Han Dynasty, which surprised experts at that time. When the "living creature" has been crawling slowly and does not show aggression, it is not until it reaches the vicinity of archaeologists that people find that the "living creature" is actually a turtle.
At that time, the discovery of a living turtle in the ancient tomb also aroused the curiosity of archaeologists, and the turtle itself has a special significance in Chinese culture, which also makes the turtle in the tomb have a layer of mystery, and even some locals think that the turtle in the tomb is a "thousand-year-old god turtle". Experts also give a relatively credible statement about this, this turtle is likely to climb into the tomb from the robbery hole, for various reasons to live in the tomb, and the turtle's life expectancy is not more than a thousand years.
summary
In fact, the discovery of "living things" in the tomb is not an accidental phenomenon, many ancient tombs have a lot of burial items, these burial products are of great value, so many people with unhealthy hearts will have a crooked mind about these ancient tombs. Since ancient times, there have been tomb robbers, who will steal the burial goods by digging a thief's hole to enter the ancient tomb.
These remaining caves also become an entrance, and it is also very common for some animals to enter the tomb through the caves. Tombs and cultural relics should be protected at any time, these are treasures left by history and should not be used as a means of profit for some shameless people.
【References】《Turtle Although Shou》
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