An ancient tomb appeared in Yangzhou, archaeologists found unexpected discoveries during the inspection process, and a rare "concrete" appeared in the tomb, and experts lamented that the owner of the tomb was a rich man. So, who is the owner of the tomb? Now let's step into today's documentary and unravel the secrets of this ancient tomb.
If it is an ancient tomb of ordinary people, it may not have any archaeological value, but if it is the tomb of a prince or a rich merchant, there must be a lot of funerary goods in it, then there is a very large archaeological value. Through the excavation and study of ancient tombs of various eras, archaeologists have obtained a lot of valuable information and filled in some gaps in history.
In the spring of 2017, just in time for planting, the villagers of Panqiao Village in Jiangsu Province went to the fields to farm, and in the process of farming, the villagers found an ancient tomb and reported the information about the ancient tomb to the relevant departments. After the relevant departments at the higher level received the news, they immediately asked the archaeological team to go to Panqiao Village to investigate.
Upon arrival at the site, the archaeologists immediately began a rescue excavation. After the archaeologists dug up the silt outside the tomb to clean up, the scene in front of them stunned the archaeologists present. The tomb is covered with white solids, and archaeologists have speculated about what kind of material it is, some people think that it is glutinous rice taken to prevent the decay of the objects in the tomb, and some people think that it is other substances.
Just when everyone was unsure, a highly qualified archaeologist conducted a detailed study and quickly determined the answer. The more senior archaeologist said that this ancient tomb belongs to the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, and it is also a famous "pouring tomb", and the white solid seen around the tomb should be the "concrete" used by the ancients.
The reason why the archaeologist is sure that this is a pouring tomb from the Yuan and Ming dynasties is mainly because a similar tomb was also found in Mazhuang Village in Yangzhou 3 years ago, and this expert was in the archaeological team at that time. At that time, the villagers of Mazhuang Village also found the ancient tomb while working in the field, and the frightened villagers quickly reported to the police, and then reported to the Yangzhou Municipal Cultural Relics Bureau.
Archaeologists from the Yangzhou Municipal Bureau of Cultural Relics immediately went to Mazhuang Village to inspect, and after preliminary silt removal, archaeologists found that the area of the tomb was less than 20 square meters, and it was also covered with white solids. Archaeologists have studied the epitaph and found that it is a single tomb in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, but the tomb looks more shabby.
Under the command of this more senior and elderly archaeologist, the archaeological team carried out rescue excavations of the ancient tombs found in Panqiao Village, Jiangsu Province, and the news was also reported to the Jiangsu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. In November of the same year, the Jiangsu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology invited archaeologists from Beijing to excavate and analyze the ancient tombs found in Panqiao Village, Jiangsu Province.
When Beijing archaeologists saw the white solids around the ancient tombs, they recognized at a glance that this was a popular pouring tomb in the Jiangnan region during the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, and the white solids were common glutinous rice mortar, the main components of which were grass and wood ash, glutinous rice and so on. In order to make the tomb more solid, the rich people in ancient times would use this material, comparable to modern concrete.
Some people may not understand the pouring tomb, in fact, the so-called pouring tomb, that is, according to the tomb owner's last wishes or the requirements of the tomb owner's family, the craftsman will first dig out the main burial chamber, and then put the coffin and funerary products into the tomb room one by one. The tomb is surrounded by green bricks, but there are gaps between the green bricks, and the walls are not strong enough, so the craftsmen will drizzle thick glutinous rice juice between the gaps.
When all this work is done, the craftsmen will cover the tomb with dirt, which is called a pouring tomb. However, in order to prevent the stickiness of glutinous rice juice from being insufficient, craftsmen will also add grass and wood ash, stones and other materials to the glutinous rice juice, which can fully ensure the stickiness of the mortar. Such materials not only enhance the solidity of the outer wall of the tomb, but also play a good sealing role.
The ancient tomb found in Panqiao Village, Jiangsu Province, uses pouring technology, which shows that the effect is very good, and the main coffin in the tomb is relatively well sealed, including the remains of the tomb owner stored in the open coffin, and its preservation is also quite complete. According to the analysis of archaeologists, the owner of the tomb was male, and when he died, he was 58 years old and his height was about 1 meter 65.
When the archaeologists opened the coffin, they found that the facial contours of the owner of the tomb were still very obvious, including hair and teeth, which could still be seen clearly. In addition, the burial items such as the tomb owner's clothes, quilts, cotton boots, and gold and silver utensils in the coffin are very well preserved. Based on the funerary items of the tomb and the sealing techniques used in the tomb, archaeologists infer the identity of the owner of the tomb.
It is said that the owner of this ancient tomb found in Panqiao Village, Jiangsu Province, is a "soil rich man" in the early Ming Dynasty, and he is also a "soil rich man" in the Jiangnan region. Although it is not accurate to infer the identity of the tomb owner from the funerary products, the use of pouring and sealing technology to build the mausoleum is indeed a technology of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, which has become the main reason for the bold inference of archaeologists.
Of all the methods of mausoleum construction, the technique of pouring and sealing the soil is the most costly method. Although this method seems to be very simple, a lot of materials are added to the intermediate processing process, such as glutinous rice flour, grass and wood ash, etc., thus playing a role in improving the stickiness. In fact, it is not only the technology used in the ancient tomb to pour and seal the soil, but also in the construction of the Great Wall.