In March 1978, archaeologists from huaiyin city, Jiangsu Province, unearthed a peculiar grate-shaped bronze vessel in a large pre-Qin tomb. But to the embarrassment of the experts, they did not know what it was for. However, after later research, I found an unexpected function, what is it? The following Xiaobian will reveal the secret to you from scratch.
According to archaeological reports, on March 26, a farmer in Gaozhuang Village, Chengnan Township, Huaiyin City, Jiangsu Province, was cleaning a ditch in the field when he accidentally saw half a decaying wooden plank and some rotten materials in the silt. The villager felt very puzzled, so he put down the shovel in his hand, crouched down and picked up the wooden plank and looked closely, and found that the wooden board had been soaked softly, and there were some ornaments on it, and at the same time, the black rot also emitted a bad smell.
After several days of busy work, experts have unearthed more than 290 cultural relics including bronze, pottery and jade, and this is also the first time that large pre-Qin tombs have been found in Jiangsu Province. However, what puzzled the experts was that among these bronzes was a very special grate, that is, an instrument with holes in the surface, which was round and about 50 centimeters in diameter, like the lattice we now use to steam steamed buns.
Judging from previous archaeological discoveries, this is the first time in the country that a grate-shaped bronze has been found, so experts are not very clear about its role. In the museum, the experts carried out a meticulous cleaning of the grate, and found that its surface was covered with patterns, and the forms were rich and diverse, both mountains and forests, birds and animals, and scenes of people hunting, the overall picture was extremely dynamic, full of vitality and vitality, which was simply a true portrayal of the social form at that time.
According to the pattern, experts determined that the grate should come from the northern region, because if it is a product of Jiangnan, its ornamentation will not be so rough, but must be a situation such as a fine wind blowing willows, small bridges and flowing water, and cars and boats. But the question is, at that time, most of the northern regions were nomadic people, they ate meat in large mouths, drank wine in large bowls, why did they make such a grate-shaped vessel like a steamed steamed bun?
After in-depth research, experts finally found that it is not a utensil used to steam food. First of all, judging from its size, the diameter of this grate was more than 50 centimeters, while the cookware at that time was generally only more than 30 centimeters in diameter. Secondly, the diameter of the round hole on the grate is 4 centimeters, which is already very large, and the diameter of the hole on the upper face of the hole where we steam things today is generally only 0.5 centimeters, so it cannot be steamed.
Since it is not steamed, will it be a ceremonial vessel for sacrifice? Experts say it is also unlikely, because in the pre-Qin and later texts, no similar sacrificial utensils have been found, and no scene of sacrifices with grates has been found on the murals left by the northern peoples in the pre-Qin period. Later, in further excavations of the tomb, experts unearthed a copper vessel with a diameter of more than 50 centimeters, which you can understand as a large bronze basin.
On a whim, the experts put the grate into the copper book and found that the two matched exactly. Therefore, the answer to the question is also solved, and the grate is used for ice wine or warm wine. In the summer, ice cubes are placed in the copper, then covered with a grate, and then the wine glass or jug is placed on top, and in the winter, the ice cubes are replaced with hot water. In this way, drink ice wine in the summer to cool down, and drink hot wine in the winter to warm up.
It can be seen that the ancients were really smart and very interesting in life. However, the editor speculated that the people who could enjoy such treatment at that time must be aristocratic figures. In addition, for archaeologists, the discovery of grates also enriched the bronze culture of the pre-Qin period, allowing us to better understand and understand the social conditions at that time.
Wenlan Hairun Studio Editor-in-Chief Wen Xiucai, this article is written by: Special History Writer: Liu Lijiang's