Schematic diagram of the distribution range of the Large Tree Root Tomb Group
Bare-chested tombs on the ground
This is an interesting archaeological: so far, the Beihai has not found such a large and concentrated collection of ancient tombs of the Six Dynasties, Sui and Tang Dynasties.
Since March 2021, the Beihai Museum has continued to carry out systematic archaeological surveys on the coastal and riverside areas of the city, and more than 10 new sites and relics distribution points have been discovered, and confirmed that the Dashugen Ancient Tomb Group in Fucheng Town, Beihai is rare in Beihai and even in Guangxi from about the Six Dynasties to the Sui and Tang Dynasties.
Dashugen Ancient Tomb Group is located in Dashugen Village, Fucheng Town, Yinhai District, Beihai City, with a distribution area of about 70,000 square meters, and nearly 30 tombs have been exposed to the ground. The most prominent feature of this tomb group is that the burial chamber is generally constructed with a stone piece commonly known as "grinding wheel piece", and some tombs are composed of masonry and stone, with narrow and shallow shapes and simple regulations.
According to the preliminary investigation and exploration, there are about 200 ancient tombs in the Dashugen ancient tomb group, combined with the characteristics of the tomb shape system and the collection of relics, it is speculated that the age of the tomb group is about the Six Dynasties, Sui and Tang Dynasties. The relics collected from the cemetery include pottery, porcelain, iron and other types, and the recognizable vessels are hard pottery four-series pots, sand-filled pottery kettles, celadon bowls, iron knives, and the pottery decoration is relatively rich, including water ripples, milk nail patterns, leaf vein patterns, grate scratches, string patterns, etc. In addition, more geometric tiles and a small number of "Pavilion" inscription bricks have been found.
Ceramics were collected around the Great Tree Root Tomb Group
"Pavilion" inscription brick
Geometric tomb tiles
Milk nail pottery was collected around the large tree root tomb group
Beihai Hepu is an important starting port of the ancient Maritime Silk Road and is known as the "living fossil" that records the Maritime Silk Road. In order to cooperate with the "Maritime Silk Road Beihai Historical Sites" to apply for world cultural heritage and further clarify the distribution of historical and cultural heritage in Beihai, since 2014, Beihai Museum has continued to carry out coastal archaeological surveys in Beihai.
Qianjiang Wharf
Ancient tombs in the northwest of the Xinjiang River along the field scattered "grinding wheel pieces" (issued by the Central Broadcasting Network, Beihai City Museum photo)
Bare-chested tombs on the surface of the earth (courtesy of Beihai City Museum)
The surrounding environment of the Dashugen Ancient Tomb Group (Courtesy of Beihai Museum)
"The most prominent feature of this tomb group is that the burial chamber is generally constructed with a stone piece commonly known as 'grinding wheel piece', and some tombs are composed of masonry and stone, with narrow and shallow shapes and simple regulations. At present, we have notified the local cultural relics management department, set up five protection plates, and arranged for village cadres to inspect and prevent the tomb group from being damaged again. Liao Yuantian, director of the Beihai Museum and director of the Beihai Cultural Relics Protection and Research Center and the Beihai Maritime Silk Road Application Center, said.
Archaeologists carry out archaeological work at the site of the Dashugen Ancient Tomb Group (Courtesy of Beihai City Museum)
Broken clay pots in the eucalyptus forest on the east side of the ancient tomb group (Courtesy of Beihai City Museum)
In 2021, the ancient cities of Shikang, Dalang Ancient City, Lianzhou Ancient City, and Grass Shoe Village Hancheng distributed along the Nanliu River were reviewed, and other locations with "ancient city" place names were systematically investigated in Beihai City, including Guchengjiao Village of Shikang Town Waterwheel Village Committee, Shiwan Village Committee Gucheng Village of Shiwan Town, and Gucheng Village of Gucheng Village Committee of Fucheng Town. Among them, the ancient city village of Fucheng Town found a relatively well-preserved remains of the earthen wall, which was initially inferred to be an ancient city site.
Ruins of the ancient city of Dalang - the ruins of the pier
Ruins of Straw Shoe Village
Pottery pieces were collected around the ruins of the ancient city of Fucheng Town
Relics were collected at the Wayao Ridge kiln site
The Beihai region is rich in porcelain clay reserves, geographical location near the sea, convenient transportation, with excellent kiln location advantages. After years of continuous inspection and excavation, the kiln sites that have been announced as cultural relics protection units include 10 kiln sites such as Yamaguchi Yingluo Kiln, Shikang Leopard Tanuki Kiln, Lianzhou Grass Shoe Village Kiln, Gaode Cylinder Kiln, Tiantou House Kiln in Nankang, Yingpan East Kiln, West Kiln, Fucheng Lower Kiln, Shang Kiln, Hongkanling Kiln, etc., and the kiln sites that have been registered as cultural relics points include Nankang Evening Girl Kiln, Lianzhou WaYao Po Kiln, Xinggang Tancun Kiln, Chijiang Kiln and so on. In 2021, more than 10 sites and relics distribution points were newly discovered, such as the Qin and Han Settlements of the Warring States of Shan pig Kengling, the tombs of the Six Dynasties of Shuihan in Wujie, the tang dynasty kiln sites of Wayaoling, the Song and Yuan ruins of Oil House, the Ming Dynasty kiln site of The Langen Cylinder Tile Kiln, and the Qing Dynasty Qinghua Kiln Site of Muyantang.
In addition, the ancient ports, docks and other related remains closely related to the Maritime Silk Road have always been the focus of archaeological work in the North Sea. The focus of the 2021 archaeological survey also includes the systematic investigation of the remains related to the Maritime Silk Road, especially the remains of the ancient port of the Maritime Silk Road, the ancient docks, and the ancient shipwrecks. At present, relatively clear wharf remains have been found to be Qianjiang Wharf.
In addition to the above-mentioned ancient city sites, ancient kiln sites, and ancient ports, archaeological surveys have also found a small number of settlement sites, ancient military facilities, ancient tombs and general relics collection points.
Beihai, a famous national historical and cultural city, has a long cultural vein and profound heritage. More than 2,000 years ago, the fleet set off from here, along the Indochina Peninsula and the Indian Ocean coast of Southeast Asian countries and South Asian countries, directly to the Persian Gulf, opened the far-reaching Maritime Silk Road, giving birth to the brilliant Maritime Silk Civilization. These archaeological discoveries have laid a solid foundation for the declaration of the "Maritime Silk Road and Beihai Historical Sites" as a World Cultural Heritage.
In the next step, Beihai will continue to conduct coastal archaeological surveys, comprehensively find out the remains of the Beihai coast, and further clarify the historical development of the Beihai. In particular, special surveys of ancient ports, wharves and ancient kiln sites were carried out, the remains related to the Maritime Silk Road in the Beihai sea were systematically investigated, the specific distribution of kiln sites in the Beihai in various periods was found, and the connection with the ancient maritime Silk Road was explored.
Guangxi Hepu Han Tomb Group is an important cultural relic of hepu county administration and hepu port in the Han Dynasty, which has profound cultural connotations, and it witnesses that Hepu County, as the "hometown of southern pearls", has become an important political, economic and cultural center in Lingnan as early as the Western Han Dynasty.
The Hepu Han Tomb Group is mainly distributed in the hilly area of the southeast suburbs of Hepu County, with an east-west length of about 12.5 kilometers, a north-south width of about 5.5 kilometers, and a total area of more than 60 square kilometers. After investigation, there are 1056 Han tombs in the sealed mounds, including those that have disappeared and are hidden underground, and the total number of Han tombs is about 10,000. Looking at the tired Han tombs, you can glimpse the prosperity of the ancient county in that year.
Hepu Han Tomb Museum
Built in 1988, the Hepu Han Tomb Museum was built on the site of the excavation of the Sifangling Han Tomb, covering an area of about 80,000 square meters, which is by far the largest Han tomb museum in China. In 1996, the Han Tombs in Hepu County was listed by the State Council as a national key cultural relics protection unit, and in December 1995, with the consent of the Autonomous Regional Party Committee and the Autonomous Region People's Government, it was named the Patriotic Education Base of the Autonomous Region.
The Hepu Han Tomb Museum is divided into two parts: the display of cultural relics excavated from the Han tomb and the physical display of the underground tomb architecture. The Excavated Cultural Relics Exhibition Hall displays more than 5,000 excavated cultural relics. Among them, there are 21 national first-class cultural relics and 93 second-class cultural relics. The physical exhibition of underground burial chamber architecture mainly shows the brick chamber tombs of the Eastern Han Dynasty that were protected and relocated from the original site.
The Hepu Han tomb group is large in scale, well preserved, and the cultural connotation is broad and profound. More than 10,000 cultural relics have been excavated, of which not all are fine works with high historical, scientific and artistic value, which are important physical materials that confirm the history of Hepu County and the port in the Han Dynasty.
According to the "Book of Han", "Book of Later Han" and other historical books and expert research, as early as the third century BC to the tenth century AD, the envoys and merchants of the Han Dynasty set sail from Hepu by ship with gold and various kinds of silk, and traded with Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka, Arabia, Italy and other countries along the way, and imported glass, stone handicrafts and native products. The record in the Book of Han is the earliest and most detailed record of the "Maritime Silk Road" in the history, and it also shows that Hepu was one of the earliest departure ports on this long route. This is fully confirmed in the archaeological discovery of the Hepu Han Tomb "imported products" and the newly discovered "Western Han Maritime Silk Hepu Port" site.
Agate, crystal, amber and glazed ornaments, although buried in the ground for more than two thousand years, are still bright and shiny, most of them imported from overseas more than two thousand years ago.
This pair of Western Han glass cups was imported from ancient Rome, the texture is translucent, the color is like a green feather, which is a representative work of glass craftsmanship at that time.
Amber carving crafts, such as lions, frogs, beads and so on. In the Han Dynasty, amber was mainly produced in the Roman Empire along the Baltic Sea coast, and the Roman Empire often interacted with the Han Dynasty through the "Maritime Silk Road", so the British scholar Laufer believed that "amber is an important substance in the history of East-West trade".
Hepu's Han Dynasty engraved bronzes have distinct local characteristics, a wide variety of types, exquisite craftsmanship, can be called the representative work of Lingnan bronze in the Han Dynasty, not only vividly and vividly reflect the social conditions of Hepu County in the Han Dynasty, the level of handicraft production, but also reflect the integration of Luoyue culture and Central Plains culture, as well as the exchange of Chinese and foreign economies and cultures.
The copper phoenix lamp is cleverly conceived, beautiful and practical. The whole body is engraved with delicate feather patterns, the phoenix tail droops, balances the body with bipedal, the back of the lamp plate neck is bent backwards, and the mouth is flared lampshade. After the candle torch is lit, the oil smoke naturally enters the lampshade, enters the abdomen through the neck, and the abdominal cavity contains an appropriate amount of water, and the soot is condensed and contained in the water to keep the air in the room clean. The neck is connected by two sets of tubes, which can be lifted up and down to adjust the light. It can be seen that our ancestors considered preventing air pollution more than 2,000 years ago. This lamp is not only a bronze work of art that perfectly combines science and art, but also a rare early environmental protection product in the world, which is the crystallization of human wisdom. The bronze phoenix lamp was selected for the 1972 "Exhibition of Cultural Relics Unearthed by the People's Republic of China", which was exhibited in seven countries including Japan, Canada and Romania, and was selected as the "monogram" of the exhibition.
The most funneled objects in the Hepu Han tomb are pottery, including daily necessities and ming utensils. Among them, the building tools include wells, stoves, warehouses and houses, of which the houses have dry column type, triple type and courtyard type. Although the architecture of the Han Dynasty no longer exists today, the structural style of Lingnan architecture in the Han Dynasty can still be seen from these architectural models, which is a rare physical data for studying the architecture of the Han Dynasty.
Another important part of the Hepu Han Tomb Museum is the burial chamber display. In the Han tomb protection display shed, you can see the Eastern Han Dynasty brick chamber tomb protected underground.
The brick chamber tombs of the Eastern Han Dynasty were built of strip bricks fired in clay, and the structural types were diverse, generally composed of front chambers, back chambers, ear chambers, niches, Yongdao and tomb passages. The tomb roof adopts a wedge-shaped brick coupon arch, which has excellent compressive properties. The back room is the main burial chamber, where the coffin of the tomb owner is placed, and the more valuable burial items are gold, silver, jade, crystal, agate, etc.; the ritual utensils for the sacrifice in the front room are bronze utensils such as dings, bottles, pots, cups, lamps, etc.; the ear chamber is placed in clay pots containing grain and rice, food, pottery, pottery, pottery and other practical products for life.
The rich historical relics of the Hepu Han Tomb Museum show the glorious history of Hepu more than 2,000 years ago, reflecting that Hepu, as the starting port of the Western Han Maritime Silk Road, has made indelible historical contributions to the friendly exchanges between the Chinese and foreign peoples and the promotion of the social, economic and cultural prosperity and development of Chinese and foreign countries.
The Han Tomb Group is located in Chongkou Community, Lianzhou Town, Hepu County, Beihai City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, that is, in the terrace area outside the city, northeast, east, south and southwest, Chongkou Village Committee Toutang, Ma Guifang, Jinjiling, Yingshui Temple, Huagenya, Tangpai Village Committee Sanguan Temple, Lianbei Village Committee Wa Kiln Team, Wuliting, Dashazhou, Qingjiang Village Committee Liu Wu, Liandong Community Bell House, Longmen River, Laohe River, Pingtian Community Fengmen Ridge, Pingyang Pond, Middle Station Of the Middle Station, Tang'er, He Po, Liaowei, Po Xin Ling, Xia Wu Po, Yangjiashan Village Committee Insert Dragon, Forbidden Mountain Village Committee Gantang, Forbidden Mountain, Shanggaoling, Tongguling, WangzhouLing, Sifangling, Luowu, Lion Ridge, Langgou Ridge, Shangban mountain, Liannan community Hongniling, Dalingtou within the scope. Jinjiling, Yingshui Temple, Huagenyuan, Tangpai Village Committee Sanguan temple, Lianbei Village Committee Wayao Team, Wuliting, Dashazhou, Qingjiang Village Committee Liu Wu, Liandong Community Bell House, Longmen River, Laohejiang, Pingtian Community FengmenLing, Pingyang Tang, Zhongzhan Village Committee Middle Station, Tang'er, He Po, Liaowei, Poxinling, Xiawupo, Yangjiashan Village Committee Dragon, Forbidden Mountain Village Committee Gantang, Forbidden Mountain, Shanggaoling, Tongguling, Wangzhouling, Sifangling, Luowu, Lion Ridge, Lang dog Ridge, Shangbanshan, Liannan Community Hongniling, Dalingtou within the scope of the range.