On April 14, CCTV released an important report on the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, CCTV reporters interviewed Wu Yongqi, director of the Mausoleum Museum of Qin Shi Huang, and asked questions related to the archaeological excavation of Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum, which was answered in detail by experts.
CCTV interview footage
Has the Mausoleum of the First Emperor been stolen and excavated?
Since there are so many treasures in the tomb of Qin Shi Huang, there must be countless people who want to steal and excavate the Mausoleum of the First Emperor from ancient times to the present, has the Mausoleum of the First Emperor been stolen?
Qin Shi Huang Terracotta Warriors No. 1 pit
Who did the terracotta inscription?
This has to talk about a strange thing.
After the terracotta warriors and horses were discovered, the experts conducted a careful study of the terracotta warriors and horses, and there was a place that made the experts puzzled, that is, the inscriptions on the terracotta warriors and horses, not to mention the ugly handwriting and this exquisite terracotta figurines do not match, and this irregular random carving is not at all in line with the neat and uniform style of the Qin Warriors.
The content is even more incomprehensible, such as "Xianyang Shou", "Xianyang Wu", "Official Zombie", etc.
Lettering on the terracotta warriors
Lettering on the terracotta warriors
Experts initially speculated whether this was the name of the terracotta warriors or the names of the craftsmen who made them, but if so, why only a small number of them had inscriptions, and the font did not use the official Qin script.
A more reasonable explanation is that these characters were engraved by people after Qin, who did it?
I'm afraid there are only tomb robbers, which just explains the fact that these carved terracotta warriors are basically on the edge of the road.
The real terracotta warriors and horses are not gray as they see every day, but are dressed in bright colored costumes, which turn gray because of oxidation
Therefore, it is likely that the tomb robbers entered the passage of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shi Huang, and marked the terracotta warriors next to them in order to prevent them from getting lost.
The excavation signs at the terracotta warrior excavation site also show that the Yongdao has been dug up, and the Yongdao entrance has been found very accurately.
This shows that the tomb robbers were very familiar with the terracotta warriors, and may even be involved in the construction of the terracotta warriors or their descendants.
Xiang Yu stole the Mausoleum of the First Emperor?
According to the "Historical Records", Liu Bang listed Xiang Yu's top ten crimes as "burning the Qin palace, digging up the first emperor's house, and collecting his belongings privately", that is to say, Xiang Yu dug up the mausoleum of the first emperor of Qin and took away the treasures.
The Book of Han records that Xiang Yu did not backfill the tomb of the First Emperor after digging it, and when a sheep herder entered the tomb with a torch to look for sheep, the fire and the coffin of Qin Shi Huang were all burned.
There are obvious traces of fire in the terracotta warrior pit, indicating that it has been burned
Li Daoyuan of the Northern Wei Dynasty recorded in the "Notes on the Book of Water" that Xiang Yu used 300,000 people to move the treasures in the tomb for 30 days, and the Kwantung thieves melted the bronze coffin of Qin Shi Huang into copper and stole it, and the rest of the cultural relics were burned by the sheep herders.
Combined with the archaeological discoveries that the terracotta warriors and horses were excavated, experts guessed that it should be the Qin people who surrendered to Xiang Yu to accept Xiang Yu's order to rob the tomb, so they were familiar with the road and easily dug the road.
A large number of coins and bronze bells unearthed from the burial tomb of Qin Shi Huang
Was the Mausoleum of the First Emperor really stolen?
During the excavation of the largest burial tomb of the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, archaeologists found dozens of robbery holes, and even found a complete human skeleton at the bottom of the tomb.
The robbery cave found in the burial tomb of the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang
Judging from the skeletal form of death and the large number of stones that appeared around it, experts speculate that this person should have been framed to death by an accomplice of tomb robbers.
Fortunately, the final excavation results were unexpected, and most of the tomb was well preserved, except for some of the tomb robbers.
Archaeological experts combined with a number of research results to determine that the terracotta warriors and burial tombs of the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang may have been excavated on a large scale, but the core of the underground palace should be intact!
Schematic diagram of the underground palace of Qin Shi Huang
What are some of the treasures in the Tomb of the First Emperor?
If the Tomb of the First Emperor had not been stolen, then there must have been countless treasures in it, and what treasures were there?
Bronze coffin
The "Historical Records" records that Qin Shi Huang "descended the copper and made the coffin", that is, the coffin was made of bronze.
At present, only a complete bronze coffin has been found in the mainland, that is, the bronze coffin of the ancient Dian monarch Yunlei, bird and beast pattern unearthed in Yunnan, if Qin Shi Huang is also a bronze coffin, then it will be more exquisite.
The bronze coffin of the ancient Dian monarch Yunlei, birds and beasts is the only bronze coffin that has been preserved intact in the mainland
Shanggu Jiuding
As a legendary ancient artifact, if Jiuding is really unearthed in the tomb of the first emperor, its cultural relics value and historical significance will be immeasurable.
So, is it possible to unearth Jiuding?
Henan Xinzheng Zheng Han Ancient City unearthed nine tripods and eight Gui
Theoretically speaking, Jiuding did disappear in the late Warring States period, and the last king of Zhou was also destroyed by Qin, after Qin unified the six countries, and collected all the treasures of the world, Qin Shi Huang really could have Jiuding.
However, judging from the available evidence, there are no historical materials and classics to record this matter, so the answer can only be revealed when the excavation of the imperial tomb begins.
The jade seal of the country
According to historical records, the jade seal of the country was dedicated to Liu Bang by Qin II, why does it appear in the tomb of the first emperor?
Because there must be a seal in the tomb of Qin Shi Huang to show his identity, this is the funeral custom of the Qin and Han dynasties, and the dragon button gold seal unearthed from the tomb of the Nanyue King in Guangzhou illustrates this point.
Zhao Tuo, the martial king of Nanyue, was ordered to attack Baiyue after Qin Shi Huang unified the six countries, and after the end of the Qin Dynasty, he was in chaos and established himself as the "martial king of Nanyue"
Moreover, in the records of the Han Dynasty historical books, the handwriting on the jade seal is "Ordered by the sky, both longevity and health", while the Qin Dynasty documents record the eight characters "Ordered by the sky, both longevity and Yongchang", which shows that the jade seal of the Qin and Han dynasties may not be the same.
This gold seal of the king dragon button of Nanyue, engraved with the 4 characters of "Emperor Wen's seal", a small seal, is owned by Zhao Tuo, the son of Zhao Tuo
Moreover, Qin Shi Huang loved Hebi so much during his lifetime, and he couldn't put it down after making it into a jade seal, and it is reasonable to bury it in the tomb as a funeral seal after his death.
As for the jade seal offered by Qin II, it may be a fake seal made by him to save his life, of course Liu Bang knew that it was fake, but in order to show legitimacy, he did a fake play.
If this is the case, it is really possible that the jade seal that has been lost for many years will reappear.
The "Taizi" turtle button gold seal was also unearthed in the tomb to indicate the identity of the tomb owner
Pre-Qin classics
The tomb of Qin Shi Huang must have been buried with a large number of bronzes, jade, gold, terracotta figurines and horses, lacquerware and silk.
A large number of jade artifacts unearthed from the burial tomb of the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang
Gold and silver camels unearthed from the burial tomb of Qin Shi Huang
Of course, the most expected by historical experts is a variety of pre-Qin classics, when Qin Shi Huang burned a large number of books, may be the only surviving in the tomb of the first emperor, if a large number of classics can be unearthed, it will have an extremely important value for the study of pre-Qin culture in the mainland.
When will the Mausoleum of the First Emperor be fully excavated?
Since the dungeon has not been stolen, will there be archaeological excavations?
Map of the ruins of the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor
In an interview with CCTV, experts replied that the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang still has tens of thousands of square meters of burial pits and imperial tombs buried deep underground, and rescue excavations may be carried out according to the needs of the situation.
However, we will never take the initiative to excavate the underground palace of Qin Shi Huang, and we must maintain a sense of reverence for heaven and earth, nature and ancestors.