Significant progress has been made in the archaeological excavation of the tomb of King Wu. This tomb is located in Xuwa Village, Sanhe Town, Huainan City, Anhui Province, and is a high-level large-scale tomb of the Chu State in the late Warring States period. According to the archaeological investigation and exploration, the Wuwangdun tomb now preserves the main tomb (No. 1 tomb), cemetery, carriage and horse pit, burial tomb, sacrificial pit and other important relics. There is an independent cemetery around the No. 1 tomb, surrounded by a ring moat, with a circumference of about 5,000 meters, and a total area of about 1.5 square kilometers. In the cemetery, relics such as carriage and horse pits, burial tombs, and sacrificial pits were found. Tomb No. 1 is a "A" shaped vertical pit pit tomb with sealed soil, and the sealing mound is in the shape of a covered bucket as a whole, with a total area of about 12,000 square meters 123456.
The excavation of the Wuwangdun tomb was presided over by the Anhui Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, and a joint archaeological team was formed with the Archaeological Research Center of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, Xiamen University, Shandong University and Huainan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. The archaeological team has developed a targeted site conservation and multidisciplinary research plan. At present, 443 coffin covers and 78 bamboo mats covered by the cover have been successfully extracted, and the later reinforcement and protection of the coffin cover and some bamboo mats have been completed, and the fragile cultural relics such as lacquered wood have been strengthened and extracted, and fine cleaning and stability protection have been carried out in the laboratory. At the same time, multidisciplinary research work has been carried out, such as carbon 14 dating of tombs, identification of timber tree species, infrared identification of coffin cover plates and ink books, research on the detection and process of lacquerware and textile materials, and analysis of burial environments.45
At present, more than 1,000 numbered cultural relics such as lacquered wood and bronze have been extracted from Tomb No. 1. Among them, a blockbuster discovery is that the large tripod placed at the south end of the east room 1 of the No. 1 tomb has a rough diameter of more than 88 cm, which is larger than the largest known Chu bronze Chu Dading, which has attracted the attention of the archaeological community. In addition, the bottom of the tomb is about 22 meters long, and in the center of the tomb is a wooden coffin chamber with a nine-chamber and multiple coffin structure in the shape of a "Ya" shape. The top of the coffin is covered with bamboo, and the bottom is alternated with firwood and thin boards in turn to form a multi-layer seal. Under the first layer of fir timber in the middle room, a set of "well" frame structure with half-shoulder mortise and tenon sockets is used.26
The archaeological work of Wuwangdun Tomb follows the guiding ideology of scientific, standardized and refined, and the archaeological excavation and cultural relics protection work are carried out simultaneously, and various scientific and technological means are comprehensively used to carry out multidisciplinary and archaeological in-depth integration, and the archaeological information is comprehensively excavated and interpreted. In the process of archaeological excavation, the joint archaeological team strictly abided by the field archaeological work procedures, excavated the sealed soil and tomb pit filling using exploration methods, and carried out a detailed dissection of the ramming method of sealing soil and filling soil, and packed and extracted important relics to the laboratory for archaeological cleaning. During the whole excavation process, in addition to text and image recordings, digital scanning, surveying and mapping were also used to collect real-time spatial information on the excavation area, and maps were produced in a timely manner, and important nodes and key scenes were not omitted, and high-precision three-dimensional digital models were established for each layer of the tomb sealing, filling and wooden coffins3.
The State Administration of Cultural Heritage stated that under the framework of the major project of "Archaeological China", it will continue to promote the archaeological excavation, cultural relics protection and multidisciplinary research of the Wuwangdun Tomb, establish the concept of "big archaeology", adhere to the refined excavation, coordinate multidisciplinary collaborative research, strengthen the protection of unearthed cultural relics and sites, and deeply explain the etiquette system, handicraft and cultural achievements of the late Warring States period Chu State behind the Wuwangdun Tomb, help the integration of culture and tourism, rural revitalization, and contribute cultural relics and cultural power to social and economic development4.
The excavation of the tomb of King Wudun not only reveals the history and culture of Chu in the late Warring States period, but also provides important information for the study of ancient Chinese tomb system and funeral customs. The archaeological work is still ongoing, and we have reason to believe that with the deepening of the excavation work, more precious cultural relics and important discoveries will be presented in front of us, providing more clues and evidence for the study of the history and culture of the Chu State and even the entire Warring States Period.
The archaeological excavation of the Wuwangdun tomb is an important part of the mainland's archaeological undertakings, reflecting the mainland's profound strength in the protection of cultural relics and archaeological research. The success of this archaeological excavation has not only contributed to the development of archaeology in the mainland, but also added new and important discoveries to the field of world archaeology. We look forward to more results in the archaeological work of Wuwangdun Tomb and contribute more to the protection and research of human cultural heritage.
The excavation of the Wuwangdun Tomb has received strong support and guidance from the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, demonstrating the mainland's firm determination and high sense of responsibility in the protection of cultural relics and archaeological research. The archaeological team strictly adhered to scientific methods and standardized operations during the excavation process, ensuring the smooth progress of the excavation work. At the same time, the development of multidisciplinary research also provides strong support for in-depth excavation and interpretation of archaeological information.
The success of this archaeological excavation is inseparable from the hard work and unremitting efforts of the archaeological team. They insisted on scientific excavation and cultural relics protection under difficult conditions, revealing to us a piece of buried history. Their dedication and efforts not only provide us with valuable historical materials, but also leave a valuable cultural heritage for future generations.
Wuwang Tomb