Briefing on the excavation of the Northern Wei tombs in Qijiapo, Datong City

Briefing on the excavation of the Northern Wei tombs in Qijiapo, Datong City

Cultural Relics Quarterly, 1995.01, Wang Yintian, Han Survival (Datong City Museum)

In April 1993, in order to cooperate with the construction of the new site of the Datong Timber Factory, the Datong Museum rescued a tomb from the Northern Wei Dynasty in Qijiapo Village, Xiaonantou Township, the southern suburb. This tomb is located on a gentle slope terrace 1 km southeast of Qijiapo Village on the east bank of the Yuhe River in the east of Datong City. The excavations are briefed below.

Tomb shape and burial tools

The tomb is a single-chamber earthen cave tomb, facing north and south. The tomb is located on the front of the burial chamber and is sloped, with a width of 0.9 and a length of about 18 meters. Because the east side of the tomb is 1 meter is two three-story buildings, and there was a large-scale collapse when cleaning the tomb, for safety reasons, only part of the tomb was excavated, and the tomb was only simply cleaned. The tomb entrance is 5.5 meters above the surface. The tomb plan is irregularly rectangular, 3.08 meters long from north to south, 2.16 meters wide from east to west, 8 meters from the bottom of the tomb (the topsoil was pushed off about 1 meter before the construction site started), the height of the tomb is about 3 meters, and the top has collapsed.

A wooden coffin, better preserved. The coffin is located horizontally from east to west, in the north-central part of the burial chamber. The west end of the coffin is wide, the east end is narrow, and the top of the large head is tilted forward. The bottom of the south side plate is 1.92 long, the upper side is 2.10 long, the front end is 0.6, the rear end is 0.34 high, and the thickness is 0.12 meters. Along the four sides of the side plate, the nail copper bubble nails for a week, some have fallen off, there are 13 existing, it is speculated that there were a total of 15 pieces. The lower end of the front side of the central side is decorated with a bronze shop first ring and an iron coffin ring (Fig. 2, 1). The north side plate is basically the same as the south side plate, but no first ring has been found. The head gear, the plane is trapezoidal, the top is curved, the upper width is 0.6, the bottom side is 0.56, the height is 0.62 meters, the thickness is 8.5 cm, there are 6 existing copper bubble nails around the periphery, which is speculated to be 7, and the lower end is nailed with an iron coffin ring in the middle (Fig. 2, 4). The foot stop is also trapezoidal, slightly curved on the upper side, 0.3 meters wide on the upper side, 0.27 meters wide on the bottom side, and 8 cm thick. A copper bubble nail is nailed in the upper middle of the outer side. The base plate is decayed. The cover plate was smashed due to the collapse of the burial chamber, but judging from the debris and copper bubble nails, its appearance was also decorated with copper bubble nails. The wooden coffin plates are connected with silver ingot rods. The inside of the wooden coffin is black painted, and the outer side is mounted on a layer.

Due to the long time and humidity, the skeleton is badly corroded, leaving only a small amount of phalanges and a little hair. The bottom of the coffin is moisture-proof and sprinkled with a layer of charcoal about 2 cm thick.

Excavated items

The tomb unearthed 195 pieces (sets) of various texture artifacts such as gold, silver, copper, iron, pottery, stone, and earth, as well as a few grains.

1. Pottery

Glazed clay pot 2 pieces. Specimen DQM1:1, broad flat edge, round lip, slender neck, oblique abdomen, flat bottom. The maximum abdominal diameter is located in the center of the abdomen, and there are two convex chord lines on the shoulder and abdomen, and the convex chord stripes on the abdomen are formed by removing the strings on both sides of the tire. Yellow-brown glaze with open flakes on the surface, glazed throughout the surface of the utensil, and exposed tires below the neck on the inside of the utensil. There are three nail marks on the bottom of the vessel. Caliber 13.7, base diameter 8, maximum abdominal diameter 20, height 29.5 cm (Fig. 1, 1). Specimen DQM1:2, instrument-like DQM1:1. Dark brown glaze with uneven glaze shades. The surface of the vessel is glazed throughout, the surface has an open piece, and the inner mouth of the utensil is exposed along the following. There are two concave chord lines on the shoulders and abdomen, and one concave chord stripe on the lower side of the neck. There are three nail marks on the bottom of the device, with a diameter of 8.6, a bottom diameter of 6.4, and a height of 17 cm (Fig. 1, 2). Placed in front of the coffin.

2. Bronze

The first ring is cast. The width of the shop is 10.8 cm, the length is 11.6 cm, the ring diameter is 9.4 cm, and the length is 19 cm. The main pattern is the animal face, the two eyes are rounded, the two lower corners are two badger teeth, and the two upper corners are binaurals. There is a hook under the nose that is interlocked with a ring. The beast has two chair horns on its head, a honeysuckle pattern, a humanoid figure on its nose, and two birds on its head. The two birds stand opposite each other, standing on separate legs, making a look back at the wing. There are three holes in the middle and bottom corners of the upper end of the shop head, with iron nails running through the inside, which are fixed to the lower end of the left side of the coffin (Fig. 2, 2).

28 copper bubble nails. Plain surface, 4.6 cm in diameter and 2.7 cm in length, used for the decoration of the exterior of the coffin (Fig. 3, 2).

2 pieces of copper. The section is rectangular with a wall thickness of 5 mm and a diameter of 7 cm, and is placed on one of the wrists of the owner of the tomb.

3 currency fountains and 140 five-baht coins were scattered in charcoal under the bones of the coffin.

3. Gold and silverware

A group of 6 golden bells. Shaped like a flat clock, there is a ring in the upper part, each 1.5 cm long and weighing a total of 3.5 grams. The soil is next to the ribs.

2 gold jewelry pieces. Boat shape, length 6, width 1.8 cm. Found near the skull.

Silver noodles, circular in section, 5 mm in diameter and 14 cm long (Fig. II, 3; Fig. III, 3). Found near the skull.

Silver finger ring surface, cross-section is a square with a wall thickness of 1 mm and a diameter of 1.9 cm. Slip on a phalangeal bone.

The silver ring section is round. Diameter 1.6 cm, pass length 2.7 cm. Found in the middle of the coffin.

4. Ironware

The diameter of the iron coffin ring is 10 cm. Cross-sectional plastered square.

Decorated at the lower end of the front side of the central side of the south side plate.

The iron mirror is badly corroded and the ornamentation is not clear. Diameter 16 cm. Unearthed fashion in a silk bag, the appearance is embroidered with honeysuckle patterns. Place on the right side of the skull.

5.Earthenware

5 mud cakes, residual. Oblate round, perforated in the center, thicker in the middle, tapering at the edges, 3 cm in diameter. The earth is located on the east side of the middle of the coffin.

6. When the necklace is covered, it is scattered around the bones and chest of the corpse, and some of the charrides of the string beads still exist in the beaded holes. A set of 12 pieces, a total of 6 kinds. a. Amber beads, 3 pieces. Flat round, diameter 2.2-2.5 cm, thin on one side and thick on the other, center perforation, aperture of 3-5 mm, side longitudinal perforation and central hole communication. Two of them have concave chords on each side for two weeks. b. Amber beads, 3 pieces. The shape is similar to a, without side holes and ornaments, with a diameter of 1.0-1.2, a thickness of 0.3-0.8 cm, and a perforation in the center. c. Beads, 2 pieces. Black, eight-petal (the other seven-lobed) melon prismatic, perforated in the center, 0.9 in diameter and 0.7 cm high. d. Animal pattern amber bead ornamentation. Flattened garden shape, thick in the center and with holes, aperture of 0.5 cm, thinning edges. On both sides of the utensils, there are a pair of carved beasts, head to tail, and the carvings are delicate and vivid. There is a hole on the side that connects to the center hole. Diameter 3.5 cm (Fig. 3, l) e. Amber beads, 2 pieces, diameter 0.7 cm. f. Ruby pendant. Droplet-shaped, protruding from the front, with a ridge in the center, an arc-shaped surface and a concave dorsal surface. There are twill on the crystal surface. The artifact is set in a silver base (fig. 2, 5).

The millet has been charred and placed on the east side of the coffin.

Datong was the capital of the early Northern Wei Dynasty (398-494 AD), and the remains of the Northern Wei Dynasty are very rich. In addition to the Yungang Grottoes and the Pingcheng Ruins, since the mid-1960s, more than 200 Northern Wei tombs have been discovered and excavated (including the former Yanbei area), of which the Tomb of Empress Feng (Taihe 14th year, 490 AD), the Tomb of Yuan Shu (Yongping Yuan year, 508 AD), the tomb of Sima Jinlong (Taihe 8th year, 484 AD), and the Luozhou Thorn Shifeng and Tu Tomb (Zheng Shi Yuan, 504 AD) are all chronological tombs. Datong City southern suburbs of the welding equipment factory excavated 167 Northern Wei tombs, excavated 748 pieces of pottery self-contained, the evolution of the law is obvious, these materials for us to understand the Northern Wei Pingcheng culture, to confirm the Northern Wei relics provide a relatively rich comparative information.

The tomb type of the Northern Wei tomb of Qijiapo is between the narrow chamber tomb of the long slope tomb of the Northern Wei Tomb of datong Electric Welding Equipment Factory and the square chamber tomb of the long slope tomb, the tomb is narrow and long, and the tomb chamber is regular, which is a typical tomb type in the later period of the Northern Wei Pingcheng Period. The wooden coffin is wide at one end, the other is narrow, the head block and the foot block are adducted, this wooden coffin shape system has been seen in the early tombs of The Inner Mongolia Hulunbuir League Zayan Nuoer Xianbei, and after moving west to Shengle, it is seen in the early tombs of the Northern Wei in Meidai Village, Hohhot, and the Northern Wei wooden coffins seen in the suburbs of Pingcheng In northern Wei are mostly in this shape, with strong Tuoba Xianbei characteristics. The wooden coffin of the Northern Wei tomb of Qijiapo and the coffin cover plate are decorated with copper bubble nails, and the side plate is nailed with a paving head ring, which has been found more in the Northern Wei tombs of datong welding equipment factory in the past, but the decorative location and the distribution of copper bubble nails are not clear. The exterior decoration of the wooden coffin of the Qijiapo Northern Wei tomb is relatively complete, which provides us with more accurate information for us to understand the remains of the Northern Wei Dynasty and understand the burial tools and burial customs of the Northern Wei Dynasty.

The vast majority of the qijiapo Northern Wei tombs are a layer of five-baht money laid in the coffin, which is an inherent burial custom in the Central Plains since the Han Dynasty. The second is the copper bubble nails and bezel used for coffin decoration. In addition, the burial utensils are ornaments (including ornaments related to decoration, such as iron mirrors); Comparing this combination of artifacts with the Northern Wei tombs of the Pingcheng period, it is not difficult to see that this is a very popular combination of artifacts in the small and medium-sized tombs of the Pingcheng period of the Northern Wei Dynasty, and it is the mainstream of the combination of funerary artifacts in this period; comparing this combination of artifacts with the early Tuoba Xianbei remains, it can be seen that its relationship of origin, that is to say, it still has a distinct xianbei relic. The humble people, both men and women, are heavily decorated, especially with gold and silver. Only women have wrist ornaments in addition to jewelry and necklaces. The owner of the Northern Wei tomb in Qijiapo has gold and silver ornaments on his head, an amber gemstone necklace on his neck, and a silver ring and copper bracelet on his fingers and wrists, just like a noble lady with a strong and humble legacy.

The style of the pavement ring is similar to that of the Northern Wei ruins of the Datong City South Bearing Factory. The bird shape on it is mostly found in the stone carvings of the second phase of the Yungang Grottoes, and the four-petal honeysuckle pattern on the mirror bag is also a very popular decorative pattern in the second phase of the Yungang Grottoes, especially the two glazed clay pots buried in the tomb, and the same utensils were only found in the Northern Wei tombs of the Datong Welding Equipment Factory in the past. According to the preliminary queuing of pottery from the welding equipment factory, and combined with the comparison of tomb types, we believe that the age of such artifacts is roughly equivalent to the late period of the Pingcheng period of the Northern Wei Dynasty, which should also be the approximate age of the Northern Wei tombs in Qijiapo.

Wang Yintian, one of the authors of this article, in the article "Tomb of Northern Wei Yuanshu in the Eastern Suburbs of Datong" (Cultural Relics, No. 8, 1989), based on archaeological findings combined with documentary records, believes that "the area south of the present Mapu Mountain and east of the Royal River should be the burial area of the Nobles and bureaucrats of the Northern Wei Dynasty." The Northern Wei Tomb of Qijiapo is only a few miles away from the tombs of Sima Jinlong, Yuan Shu and Gao Kun, and is located within this large tomb area of the Northern Wei Dynasty. Judging from the geographical location of the tomb, the scale of the tomb and the cultural relics of the earth, the owner of the tomb was not an ordinary civilian before his death.