When archaeologists excavate ancient tombs, they generally unearth the remains of the tomb owner, and if they are lucky, they can also find well-preserved ancient corpses, but there is also a trouble, that is, how to transfer ancient corpses is a problem. For example, archaeologists once found ancient corpses in the tomb of Princess YeMaotai, and finally used a clever method to solve the problem of transfer. How exactly did archaeologists do it? If you are also interested, the following small editor will reveal the secret:
The experts entered the burial chamber and found that the interior was large and filled with various burial items, including ceramics, gold and silver and jade, as well as some silk fabrics and wooden utensils. It is worth noting that on the inside of the burial chamber there is a large stone offering table, and behind the table there is a delicate wooden building, like a closed curtain tent, the whole body is painted with brown paint, and there is a door and window, the base and the parapet and other components, the overall look like an ancestral hall.
Experts at first were still very confused, and later after research determined, this kind of building is a Kind of Liao Dynasty burial custom, called the coffin room, as the name suggests, it is placed in the coffin of the tomb owner, and generally only the relatives of the emperor and the state are eligible to enjoy, which shows that the tomb owner as a princess of the Liao Kingdom, the identity and status are also very unusual. Judging from the archaeological findings, this cultural relic is the best preserved wooden coffin on the mainland, which is of great value for the study of funeral customs in the Liao Dynasty. However, what experts are looking forward to is the coffin inside the coffin, because the coffin is so well preserved, and the internal coffin must be preserved as before.
After some cleaning, the experts opened the small tent of the coffin room and found that inside was a sarcophagus, visually measuring more than 2 meters long and more than 1 meter wide, and the outside was also embossed with exquisite curly grass patterns and four auspicious sacred beasts, highlighting the noble identity of the tomb owner. Subsequently, the experts opened the sarcophagus, and their hearts were full of expectations, hoping to find the intact ancient corpse, but unfortunately, although the ancient corpse was found, only the clothes were relatively well preserved, and the flesh was basically decayed, and only the remains could be seen. In any case, even the white bone has research value, so experts decided to transfer it out of the sarcophagus and transport it to the Shenyang Museum for preservation and treatment. But how to transfer it has become a problem, because the remains are so corroded that they can cause irreparable damage if they are used directly.
After research and discussion, the experts finally got a proper solution - rice paper. First, the experts found a large bundle of rice paper, spread a piece of rice paper on the remains of the owner of the tomb, and sprinkled a layer of water to wet the rice paper so that it was completely glued to the remains. Then, sprinkle a layer of plaster powder on the wet rice paper, that is, the material for building a house and scraping the wall, which can play a fixed role. Just such a layer of rice paper, a layer of gypsum powder, wrapped back and forth in more than a dozen layers, and finally when the gypsum powder solidifies, the entire remains are firmly fixed together, even if there is some slight vibration, it will not affect the remains.
After wrapping the remains, experts smoothly removed it from the sarcophagus and carried it onto a stretcher into the truck. From Yemaotai to Shenyang is nearly 100 kilometers, usually driving up to 2 hours to arrive, but in order to protect the ancient corpses from the impact of bumps, the driver turtle speed forward, driving for more than ten hours to reach the Liaoning Museum. Through the study of ancient corpses, experts have completed archaeological topics such as the identity of the princess, the age of death and the cause of death, and whether or not she is ill.
It can be seen that archaeology is not only manual labor, but also mental labor, and it must be combined with hands and brains to make more discoveries. It is worth mentioning that similar methods of taking ancient corpses have also been applied in other places later, which is also a major innovation of Liaobo, which makes people have to admire the wisdom of archaeologists.
Wenlan Hairun Studio Editor-in-Chief Wen Xiucai, this article is written by: Special History Writer: Liu Lijiang's