Briefing on the excavation of the Eastern Jin Dynasty Tomb in Yintang, Yushan, Ma'anshan, Anhui
Ma'anshan City Museum
Summary: In 2009, the Ma'anshan Museum in Anhui Province rescued the Eastern Jin Tomb in Yintang, Yushan, Ma'anshan. The tomb is a single-chamber brick tomb with a corridor, which has been seriously damaged, but more than twenty pieces of burial items are obviously characteristic of the era. The excavated pottery figurines support the characteristics of the Lack of strict boundaries between men and women during the Six Dynasties period, and the construction form of the coffin bed and altar provides valuable physical data for studying the evolution of the tomb shape of the "convex" shaped brick chamber in the lower Reaches of the Yangtze River.
Keywords: Eastern Jin Dynasty Brick Chamber Tomb Pottery Figurine Coffin Bed Altar
In mid-December 2009, about 100 meters northwest of the Jinshan Village Committee of Yintang Town, Yushan District, Ma'anshan City, Anhui Province (Picture 1), a brick chamber tomb was discovered due to municipal infrastructure construction. The Ma'anshan Museum was commissioned by the Provincial and Municipal Cultural Relics Bureau to carry out a rescue excavation (no. YM1). The tomb is seriously damaged, but it can basically distinguish the shape, and the excavated artifacts are rich. The excavations are briefed below.
1. Tomb structure
The tomb is located under the foundation of the farmer's yard, before excavation due to mechanical downhill and flat floor damage, the bottom of the tomb is less than 0.50 meters from the surface, the tomb opening, the tomb roof topping method, the tomb passage are unknown. The tomb sits east and faces west, consists of a corridor and a burial chamber, the plane is in the shape of a "convex" glyph, and the tomb door faces south-west. The tomb is facing 240°. It is 5.04 meters long and 2.23 meters wide (Fig. 2; color illustration 4:1).
Figure 1// Schematic diagram of the location of the Eastern Jin Dynasty Tomb in Yintang, Yushan Mountain
Fig. 2//YM1 flat, cross-sectional view
1, 15, 16, 20.Clay figurines 2.Pottery pots 3.Pottery spoons 4,21.Pottery pins 5,13.Pottery hammers 6—12,17.Pottery plates 14.Copper smoke 18,19.Pottery ear cups 22,23.Talc pigs 24.Celadon bowls
The plan of the Yongdao is rectangular, with an inner length of 0.68 and an inner width of 0.86 meters, a residual height of 0.42 meters for the south straight wall and 0.32 meters for the north straight wall. Straight-wall masonry method three shun one ding. The front end of the Yongdao is a green brick tiled sealed door wall, 0.86 long, 0.32 wide and 0.20 meters high. The bottom is paved with a layer of oblique "human" pattern floor tiles.
The plan of the tomb is rectangular, with an inner length of 3.7 meters and an inner width of 1.8 meters, a residual height of 0.42 meters on the south and back straight walls, and a residual height of 0.32 meters on the north straight wall. Straight-wall masonry method three shun one ding. The bottom is paved with a layer of oblique "human" pattern floor tiles. The floor tiles from the front to the back of the burial chamber are made of tomb bricks, which are 2.9 meters long, 1.8 wide and 0.05 meters high. The front of the coffin bed is paved with tomb bricks in four ways as a "convex" glyph-shaped altar, which is 1.75 long, 0.64 wide and 0.05 meters high, close to the west wall, leaving a gap of 0.05 meters with the east wall.
The left and right walls of the burial chamber and the Yongdao are single-layer bricks, and the Ding bricks are mostly half bricks, and occasionally 1 to 3 whole bricks are used. The tomb bricks are green and gray in color, all rectangular flat bricks, 32 long, 16 wide and 5 cm thick. Most of the tomb tiles are plain faces, and the "×" symbol is occasionally molded on the side.
2. Excavated goods
The bones of the main body of the tomb are completely decayed, and only traces of decay of the coffin are seen. A total of 24 relics were unearthed, mainly clay pottery, a small number of celadon ware, bronze ware, talcware, except for talc pigs and blue-glazed porcelain bowls unearthed in the coffin bed, the rest are displayed on the altar. Most of the excavated relics were damaged, of which 1 pottery spoon and 1 piece of pottery bowl were broken, most of the artifacts were missing and could not be repaired, and 1 bronze incense was seriously corroded and chalked, and only the bottom, foot and tray remained.
Pottery plate 8 pieces. The shape is basically the same, the size varies, the largest caliber is 20.5 cm, the smallest caliber is 15 cm. Skimming, round lips, oblique straight abdomen, flat bottom. YM1:10 with convex chord pattern on the insole. Caliber 20.5, base diameter 18, height 2.6 cm (Fig. 3:1). YM1:7, caliber 16, base diameter 14.8, height 2 cm (Fig. 3:2).
Figure 3//YM1 Excavation artifacts
1. 2. Pottery plate (YM1:10, 7) 3.Pottery figurine (YM1:16) 4.Pottery hammer (YM1:5) 5.Pottery ear cup (YM1:19) 6、7.Tao Pingji (YM1:4, 21)8.Celadon bowl (YM1:24)9.Talc pig (YM1:22)
4 pieces of clay figurines. The figurines are similar in size, and the shape and production process are basically the same. YM1:1, YM1:15, YM1:20, severe fragmentation, missing head after bonding, failed to repair (color insert 4:2). YM1:16, basically complete, male figurines, head, identity system; head pinching, wearing a round crown, facial features are clearly carved, deep eye sockets, high nose bridge, smile-like, appearance slightly similar to Hu people; figurine body molded, standing posture, wearing a narrow sleeve robe skirt, hands together in front of the abdomen. The height is 21.6, and the bottom diameter is 11 cm (Fig. 3:3; back cover).
Pottery hammer 2 pieces. The shape is the same, and the size is similar. Concentric circles, mother-daughter mouth, straight abdomen, bent waist, flat bottom. The middle circle is divided into three blocks, one half circle, the other two cells occupy 1/4 circle each; the outer circle is divided into six equal blocks. YM1:5, caliber 19.8, center ring diameter 6.5, bottom diameter 20, height 3.8 cm (Fig. 3:4). YM1:13, caliber 21, center diameter 7, base diameter 19, height 3.4 cm (color insert 4:3).
Pottery cup 2 pieces. The shape is the same, and the size is similar. Oval mouth, slightly upturned at both ends, rounded lip, crescent-shaped ears, flat bottom. YM1:19, mouth length and diameter 22.2, width diameter 14, bottom length and diameter 13, width diameter 9.4, height 8 cm (Fig. 3:5).
Pottery with several 2 pieces. YM1:4, circular arc back, several backs with two grooves on the bottom surface, trigonal legs, several backs connected to the tenons. Several dorsal remnants are 24 cm long, 4 wide, and 12.5 cm high (Fig. 3:6). YM1:21, arc back, trigonal leg animal foot, several backs connected to the foot mortise, all-over photons. The backs are 58 long, 5 wide, and 16.6 cm high (Fig. 3:7; colored illustration 4:4).
Blue glazed porcelain bowl 1 piece. The mouth edge is mutilated. YM1:24, straight mouth, round lip, mouth along the bottom of a concave string pattern, arc wall under the adduction, flat bottom, the sole of the foot is burned. Gray and white tires, glaze and bottom. Caliber 10, base diameter 5.5, height 4.2 cm (Fig. 3:8; color insert 4:6).
Talc pig 2 pieces. The shape and size are basically the same. Slightly elongated, reclining, short snout, clearly carved mouth and nose, rough carving of the pig's body, simple mane on the back. YM1:22, length 7.6, width 1.3, height 1.5 cm (Fig. 3:9; color insert 4:5).
III. Conclusion
(1) The age of the tomb
Judging from the combination of Ming ware, the burial items of the tomb are mostly plates, pots, spoons, hammers, ear cups, and pingji and other gray pottery utensils. According to Sun Wu and Western Jin Dynasty pottery, "there are mainly poultry and livestock, grain storage and processing tools, household utensils, etc., of which the first two types are basically absent in other periods, becoming one of the important bases for tomb dating in this period"[1], the tomb era should be in the Eastern Jin Dynasty or the Southern Dynasty.
From the perspective of the shape of the utensils, the excavated celadon bowl decoration has only a concave string pattern, and the diagonal check, diamond pattern, bead pattern, printed shop head and lotus pattern of the middle and late Southern Dynasty that are common in the Eastern Wu and Western Jin Dynasties are not found, which are basically the same as the celadon bowls excavated from the Eastern Jin Dynasty Tomb in The Forest of Ma'anshan City[2]. The two talc pigs unearthed are simple in carving and slender in size, similar to the two talc pigs excavated from the Eastern Jin Tomb in magang garden community in Ma'anshan City.[3] The excavated pottery is several curved, with grooves and trigumous legs on the back, which are common in the Tombs of the Eastern Jin Dynasty in Nanjing and Ma'anshan area, and the Tombs of the Eastern Jin Dynasty in The Forest of Cihu Township, Ma'anshan City, and the Tomb of the Mengfu Jun of the Eastern Jin Dynasty [4] have been excavated. The excavated pottery hammers are different from the square hammers of Sun Wu and the Western Jin Dynasty, and the grid is also more than that of the Southern Dynasty round hammers, and the characteristics of the Eastern Jin Dynasty pottery hammers are obvious.
From the perspective of the tomb shape system, the tomb "convex" glyph-shaped single-chamber structure is the mainstream of the tomb shape system from the Eastern Jin Dynasty to the Southern Dynasty in Nanjing and surrounding areas. The two walls of the tomb Yongdao do not have grooves and traces of the installation of wooden doors, according to the "convex" glyph-shaped single-chamber tomb Yongdao "mid-mounted wooden doors ... Most of them belong to the Western Jin Dynasty to the early Eastern Jin Dynasty"[5] It is inferred that the tomb is not dated earlier than the late Jin Mu Emperor Yonghe. The "convex" glyph-shaped single-chamber tomb in the early Southern Dynasty (Song Qi), the structure is the same as that of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, but "the thickness of the two walls is increased"[6], and the two walls of the M1 of the Southern Dynasty Tomb Group in Lailong Village, Tuxin City, Anhui Province, are 32 cm thick[7], and the thickness of the two walls of the tomb is only one piece of tomb brick width, that is, 16 cm, which is very thin compared with the Tomb Group M1 of the Lailong Southern Dynasty, so it is inferred that the tomb age will not be later than the early Southern Dynasty.
Based on the above, although the tomb has no chronology and is seriously damaged, it can be concluded that the tomb is a "convex" glyph-shaped single-chamber tomb in the middle and late Eastern Jin Dynasty.
(ii) A few points of analysis on the value of the tomb
1. About the identity of the tomb owner
The tomb is more than 5 meters long, although it belongs to the medium-sized tomb of the Six Dynasties period, but the volume is not large, and the burial products are mostly pottery, combined with the Six Dynasties period" Convex tombs are generally the tombs of those with official products or their wives and concubines, while those without official products can only be buried in rectangular tombs"[8] Inferred, the tomb owner should be a lower-level bureaucrat, and the official rank is not high. The tomb is 1.8 meters wide, and the two excavated pieces are placed on both sides of the altar with a few points, and each is equipped with two pottery figurines, and the tomb may be a husband and wife burial tomb.
2. About the terracotta figurines
Most of the pottery figurines in the tombs of the Six Dynasties are figures such as the attendants and slaves of the tomb owners, and generally appear in pairs (one man and one woman or two men and two women, three men and three women). The four pieces of pottery figurines unearthed from the tomb are relatively complete except for one male figurine, the other three are missing heads, but the shape and size of the figurines are basically the same, the production process is basically the same, and they are placed around the table, these four pottery figurines should be the tomb owner's two pairs (two men and two women) figurines. The costumes of these two pairs of male and female attendants, too, "reflect the social customs of the time, indicating that there is no strict distinction between men and women in terms of clothing"[9], such as "skirts" during the Six Dynasties period, both men and women can wear.
3. About the coffin bed and the altar
During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, "convex" glyph-shaped brick chamber tombs with coffin beds and altars were rarely found, and at present, only "individual large tombs have coffin beds, and a few tombs have altars with burial items".[10] As a medium-sized tomb, the tomb has a coffin bed and an altar, and it is rare for the coffin bed and the altar to be integrated, and at present, only the Six Dynasties Tomb Group M3 in Dongyuan Community can be seen in the Ma'anshan area [11]. The tomb coffin bed and altar are made of a layer of tomb tiles, only 5 centimeters higher than the floor tiles, which should be a case of the evolution of the coffin bed and altar of the tomb from scratch, which is of great significance for enriching the tomb shape system in the middle and late Eastern Jin Dynasty in Ma'anshan area and studying the evolution of the eastern Jin tomb shape system in Nanjing and surrounding areas.
Discovery: Li Huihui Zhang Houwu
Pictured: Deng Yan
Written by: Li Jun, Li Huihui
[1] Wang Zhigao and Luo Zongzhen, Cultural Relics of the Six Dynasties, Nanjing Publishing House, 2004, pp. 205, 120.
[2] Ma'anshan Municipal Cultural Relics Administration: "Briefing on the Cleaning of the Tombs of the Eastern Jin Dynasty in the Forest of Ma'anshan", Southeast Culture, No. 1, 2008.
[3] Ma'anshan Municipal Cultural Relics Administration: "Briefing on the Excavation of the Eastern Jin Tombs in Magang Garden Community, Ma'anshan City", Cultural Relics Research, Vol. 14, Huangshan Book Club, 2005.
[4] Anhui Cultural Relics Task Force: "Cleaning up the Tombs of the Eastern Jin Dynasty in Ma'anshan, Anhui", Archaeology, No. 6, 1980.
[5] Luo Zongzhen, Archaeology of the Six Dynasties, Nanjing University Press, 1996, p. 115.
[6] With [5], p. 113.
[7] Dangtu County Cultural Relics Management Institute: "Briefing on the Excavation of the Southern Dynasty Tomb Group in Lailong Village, Dangtu New City, Anhui Province", Southeast Culture, No. 1, 2008.
[8] Department of Archaeology, Department of History, Nanjing University, Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Ezhou Museum: Tombs of the Six Dynasties of Echeng, Science Press, 2007, p. 320.
[9] With [5], p. 192.
[10] Same[5], p. 112.
[11] Ma'anshan Municipal Cultural Relics Administration: "Briefing on the Cleaning of the Tombs of the Six Dynasties in the Eastern Garden of Ma'anshan", Cultural Relics Research, Vol. 11, Huangshan Book Club, 1998.
Originally published in Southeast Culture, No. 6, 2018