Watching a documentary when I was idle, I was haunted by a video about the actual archaeological record. Let's turn the clock around and go back to that era of strong competition and strong survival.
In the 1950s, Chu tombs were excavated from Changtaiguan in Xinyang, and the local population passed them on by word of mouth. On April 12, 2016, while working, two villagers noticed a large hole next to a bulging earthen bag in the field. Realizing that this may be a tomb robbery, the local government was informed, and archaeologists came to immediately carry out protective excavations.
The ancient tomb is numbered "M18" and is a zigzag-shaped Warring States Chu tomb. According to the Warring States funeral specifications, only people of aristocratic origin can use the ancient tomb of the A-shaped shape. During the excavation, experts found traces of theft on the sealed soil. However, when the digging continued, it was found that the rafters were very well preserved, and the tomb robbers did not dig up this layer.
Everyone has a hunch that this time it may be possible to unearth valuable cultural relics in the ancient tomb. After a series of repeated and precise preparations, under the right temperature and humidity conditions, the coffin was scanned before opening, and then the black coffin was carefully opened.
For thousands of years, the owner of the tomb has slept quietly in it, but has merged with the surrounding silt. On the left-hand side, there is a bronze sword. The sheath of the sword was rusty, but when the sword was drawn out of its sheath, a cold light suddenly appeared, as if it could freeze the air in an instant. The sword body also has a blue quenching, even if it has been sleeping for more than 2300 years, it is still as sharp as ever.
The excavated cultural relics are mainly imitation copper pottery vessels, some of which are also painted, even if soaked for thousands of years, the color is still not diluted, you can see the exquisite time.
There is no epitaph in the tomb, and there is no inscription on the bronze ding, which can only be speculated based on this well-made bronze sword and the soldiers and armor used, the tomb owner is a military general of the Chu State in the middle and late Warring States period, not only from a noble birth, but also brave and good at war. When meeting people in this way, consciousness can never communicate, but to some extent, it is also a meeting.
In that world of great strife with flesh and blood and hearts, I don't know his name and face, but it is conceivable that he has fought bravely to be the first to protect the country.
Archaeology is an extremely mysterious and fascinating thing. Archaeology is also about returning home, talking to ancestors from a thousand years ago, and listening to their poetry about history. It's not as simple as you think, but it's more fascinating than you think.
Five thousand years have passed, and the wind and clouds on this land have risen and fallen, and they have changed with each passing day.
We see the magnificent colors of the past, hear the sound of the once fierce wind, and know the hardships and peace and grand loneliness of history.
That is our past, this is the future they are looking forward to, and in this way, the history buried in the dirt is stripped of dust, stretched out, and peeked into the truth of time.