Introduction: The colored tree turns the lamp beads are staggered, and the embroidered sandalwood back pillow jade carving shovel. —— Li Shangyin, "Fuping Shaohou"
Archaeology is an interesting-sounding but actually lengthy and boring job, and the most surprising thing for archaeologists is the discovery of new artifacts. In particular, the tombs of those Tianzi princes often have extremely rich funerary products, as well as very complex designs. For example, the mausoleum of the first emperor of Qin, its scale is as grand as shocking. There are also some tombs of princes and generals, as rich as funerary goods, but they have not received so much attention. For example, in
In Hubei, a tomb of a Ming dynasty prince was discovered, and 700 gems were unearthed, which experts said was simply rich and invincible.
Deep underwater burials
In April 2001, in Dahong Village, Changtan Town, Zhongxiang, Hubei Province, an archaeological work had just begun.
Zhongxiang City, known as Jiaoyin during the Warring States period, was the capital of the Chu state and has always been an important capital city.
In the Ming Dynasty, it became the three directly subordinate cities alongside Beijing and Nanjing. It can be seen that the geographical location here is crucial, and the economic development is also at the forefront. The large-scale tomb in front of you must have a surprising discovery inside.
The experts first pumped out the water around the tomb, and it took more than ten days to pump the water alone before its gate was revealed
。 The closed tomb door shows that it has not been stolen here, it should be due to the immersion in water, the tomb robbers are difficult to operate, so it escaped the disaster and was completely preserved.
After the excavation of experts, the appearance of the entire burial chamber was initially revealed.
Ground buildings have been built here, as well as internal and external gardens, and the underground palace is the tomb.
After a long period of vicissitudes, parts of the ground have been destroyed, leaving only ruins and broken bricks, only the underground palace has been completely preserved.
The tomb is a brick structure, divided into an anterior and posterior chambers, the entire tomb is 15.4 meters long, the widest place is 7.88 meters, and the height is 5.3 meters. The walls of the tomb reach a thickness of 1 meter and are composed of 6 layers of bricks.
The entire burial chamber is very strong and exquisitely constructed. The top of the tomb also left the blow marks of the tomb robbers, but it was not successfully entered. The soil piles outside the tomb are made of excavated earth and stone, and the volume reaches 50 meters wide and 9 meters high, which is very grand and spectacular.
Funerary items of the rich and enemy countries
The tomb is inscribed with an epitaph,
The east side is engraved with the epitaph "Tomb of the King of Liangzhuang", and the west side is engraved with the "Daming Liangzhuang Princess Yuanzhiwen".
Coupled with the two coffins in the tomb, experts determined that this was a joint tomb of kings and concubines.
The owner of the tomb was none other than King Liang Zhuang of the Ming Dynasty and his concubine Concubine Wei
。 Zhu Zhan'an, the King of Liangzhuang, was the ninth son of Emperor Mingrenzong Zhu Gaoji and the half-brother of Emperor Mingzong Zhu Zhanji
。 This tomb is the highest status of the Ming Dynasty prince tombs currently found on the mainland. Therefore, the funerary items inside are naturally rich and diverse, which experts have long expected, but when you open the tomb door to see the items inside, it is still shocking.
More than 5300 funerary items were unearthed in the entire tomb,
It contains a wide range of types, including gold, silver, jade, copper, iron, lead, and tin, as well as various types of porcelain, pottery, lacquered wood, as well as stone tools, bone tools, and so on. Such a rich variety, and the sheer number, shocked everyone.
Later, according to statistics, there were more than 1400 pieces of gold, silver and jade, weighing more than 50 kilograms. There are more than 3400 pearls and gemstones
Some are single pieces, and some are combined into one piece.
More than 700 of these gemstones stand out, and they are well preserved and sparkling.
These huge numbers of funerary items all highlight the noble status of the tomb owner.
The brilliant achievements of Zheng He's voyage to the West
The style of these more than 700 gemstones is exquisite, and the production process is not like that of the Ming Dynasty.
So where did all this exquisite jewelry come from?
According to the "Yingya Shengguan", when Zheng He of the Ming Dynasty went to the West, he brought back many rare treasures
, but no one has ever seen the real face. The period in which King Liang Zhuang lived was the era when Zheng He went to the West, and Zheng He sent several missions to Southeast Asia, bringing the civilization of the Ming Dynasty to Nanyang and bringing the specialties of Nanyang back to the Central Plains.
Later, after the expert identification of China University of Geosciences, the more than 700 gems excavated from the tomb of King Liang zhuang were all produced in Southeast Asia.
These include rubies, sapphires, and emeralds and emeralds, all of which are extremely valuable gemstones.
All belonged to Zheng He brought back from the West.
The entire area of The tomb of King Liangzhuang is about 31 square meters
But there are so many funerary items unearthed and they are exquisite and valuable, it is no wonder that experts evaluate him
Although he is a prince, he is rich enough to rival the country.
Unfortunately, the Si people have passed away, and no amount of gold and silver jewelry can be enjoyed, and their current value is no longer a question of how much money they are worth, but as a carrier of historical research. Through the study of these cultural relics, our descendants can understand the manufacturing technology, economic situation, human environment or political policy of that era, etc., and these values will be far better than the value of the cultural relics themselves, which may be the reason why archaeology is so attractive.
Resources:
Southern Cultural Relics
"Yingya Victory"