From November 2019 to May 2020, the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology excavated a complete Sui Dynasty family cemetery, the Sui Wangshao Family Cemetery, in Hanjia Village, Dizhang Street, Airport New Town, Xixian New District.
In the cemetery, Wang Shao, Wang Shao's eldest grandson Wang Hong, Wang Xian, the eldest son of Wang Kai (Wang Shao's grandfather) in Northern Zhou, and Wang Kai's eldest grandson Wang Shitong, were buried in the cemetery. Wang Shao's tomb is the largest, which is a 7-patio double-chamber earth cave tomb with sealed soil on the ground, with a total length of 60 meters and a depth of 13.6 meters, and its scale is second only to the Sui Dynasty mural tomb in Tongguo Village, which is much higher than the ordinary Sui tomb that has been found.
Distribution map of the Sui Wangshao family cemetery
Partially around the ditch
The cemetery is the largest and highest level of the M1 Tomb of Wang Shao. The surface of M1 was originally sealed, which was bulldozed in the early years, and now only the bottom is about 0.3 meters thick. The sealing surface is nearly square, with a bottom length of 19.48 meters from north to south and an east-west width of 15.56 meters. The tomb is located on the easternmost side of the Zhaoyu area, which is a two-chamber earthen cave tomb with a slope of 7 patios, the width of the patio is the same as that of the tomb, and the length is gradually lengthened to the north.
M1 Wang Shao Tomb Panorama (North-South)
M7 Front Room (East-West)
M3 Panoramic view of Wang Shitong's tomb (north-south)
M6 Tomb chamber of Wang Xian
M4 Tomb of Wang Hong (West-East)
M1 Tomb of Wang Shao (West-East)
Wang Shao Zixiang ,Sui Shu (隋書) has a legend, shiju Jingzhao, Northern Zhou to Sui to perform military merits, in sui and governor Shi, Xiangcheng Duke, successively assisted Jin Wang Guang and Qin Wang Junzhen and prefecture, quite trusted by Emperor Wen of Sui. Emperor Jue ascended the throne and posthumously presented Situ, Shang Shuling, Lingfu and other ten states to assassinate Shi and the Duke of Wei.
Unearthed clay figurines
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In 2019, the archaeological results of the Three Kingdoms to the Sui and Tang Dynasties period were fruitful, with a total of more than 350 articles (departments), and the research pattern showed a new trend. The discovery and research of tombs is still the most important content of this period, and the cao wei tombs, southern dynasty tomb brick paintings, and Tang tomb murals are several highlights worth noting. There is not much newly published information on the discovery and research of the capital, but decades of accumulation have advanced the depth of research, especially in the restoration of Luoyang City in Northern Wei. The discovery and research of handicraft remnants is in a state of atrophy and lackluster. Archaeological research on cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries has maintained steady development. The discovery and research of religious relics, epitaphs and inscriptions have performed prominently in this year, and the proportion of results is relatively high. In both respects, there are a variety of professional journals or collections as a platform, which creates good conditions for the timely and full publication of the results. Taking Dunhuang Studies as a benchmark, Yungang Studies has risen up in recent years, and the results of grotto and statue research will be more in the future. In addition to the compilation of new materials by archaeologists, scholars in history, literature, linguistics and other disciplines also attach great importance to the study of excavated documents based on epitaphs and inscriptions, and interpret and deeply explore the information of inscriptions from various angles, and the relevant results are magnificent.
Originally published in The Yearbook of Chinese Archaeology 2020
Edited by the Chinese Archaeological Society, published in October 2021
Illustrations and text descriptions are from the Internet, not the original text with pictures