The bronze pot unearthed in Sanmenxia contains 6 kilograms of Western Han medicinal liquor. Expert: You can’t drink heavy metals
Beijing News (trainee reporter Peng Chong) A few days ago, archaeologists unearthed a goose-head curved-neck bronze pot containing more than 6 kilograms of yellow-brown liquid in the ancient tombs of Houchuan Village, Sanmenxia, Henan.
After testing, the liquid in the pot was medicinal wine from the Western Han Dynasty.
Whether the medicinal wine in the pot can be drunk has sparked heated debate.
On September 21, Professor Yang Yimin, who participated in the liquid test, told the Beijing News reporter that because the ancient wine has been "cellared" in bronze containers for more than 2000 years, the content of heavy metals such as lead and copper in the wine is relatively high. harmful."
Bronze kettle unearthed in Henan during the early Western Han Dynasty
In May of this year, the Sanmenxia Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology discovered a bronze pot with a goose head and curved neck in a tomb in the early Western Han Dynasty in Houchuan Village, Sanmenxia.
"The swan shape (the bronze pot) is still relatively rare." Yan Fei, director of the business office of the Sanmenxia Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, told the Beijing News that the goose-headed and curved-necked bronze pot evolved from the Qin Dynasty garlic straight-necked bronze pot, which is relatively rare. .
The picture shows that there is a small hole on the top of the bronze pot, which is relatively well preserved, and the original gold of the bronze can be seen in some places.
Yan Fei mentioned that when taking out the bronze pot, the archaeologists found that there was more than 3,000 milliliters and 6 kilograms of liquid in the pot.
"At first, we didn't know if the liquid in the pot was ancient liquid, so we were not particularly excited."
Because the neck of the swan-head curved-neck bronze pot has a curved neck, there is a lot of liquid in the pot, and there are more impurities. The holes are small, and the liquid does not flow out smoothly.
Yan Fei said that for the accuracy of the test, they first shook the body of the pot to pour out the residue and sediment.
"We originally prepared a 2.5-liter glass container, but found it was not enough when we turned it upside down, and then replaced it with another container. It took about a minute or two to pour the liquid out." Yan Fei said.
The liquid in the pot is determined to be Xihan medicinal liquor
The liquid sample was handed over to the research group led by Professor Yang Yimin from the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences.
According to Professor Yang Yimin, the research team specializes in the analysis of ancient organic residues (such as food, medicine, cosmetics, etc.). He also tested the residues in bronze wine vessels more than ten years ago.
Through the carbon fourteen measurement, Yang Yimin determined that the age of the liquid in the bronze pot was about the 3rd century BC, "it is consistent with the age of the tomb (early Western Han Dynasty), indicating that the liquid is indeed ancient, not groundwater leakage."
Secondly, through organic matter analysis and electron microscopy analysis, Yang Yimin detected tartaric acid and other trace organic acids related to wine in the liquid in the pot. Hair ash and plant ash were also found in the liquid to help reduce inflammation and stop bleeding.
"We think it is a medicinal wine. From the perspective of ancient books, it is like this. The liquid composition is consistent with the composition of the medicinal wine recorded in the medical prescription "Fifty-two prescriptions" unearthed from the Han tomb in Mawangdui, Changsha, Hunan. In addition, the ingredients of plant carbonization and animal hair carbonization The efficacy of the drug is also based on modern pharmacology." Yang Yimin introduced.
"If you insist on drinking it will be harmful to your body"
Whether this pot of "cellar" wine for more than 2,000 years can be drunk has aroused heated debate.
Yang Yimin said that the liquid in the pot was turbid yellow-brown, and because the alcohol had evaporated, there was no smell.
Although no harmful organic ingredients have been detected, because it has been stored in bronze containers for too long, the content of heavy metals such as lead and copper in the wine is high. "If you insist on drinking it, it will be harmful to your body."
Yan Fei mentioned that the unique shape of the goose-head bronze pot is the key to the preservation of the liquid in the pot for more than 2,000 years.
"The special structure of the curved neck makes the internal liquid difficult to volatilize. In addition, the entire bronze pot has thick materials without cracks, and the pot has a small hole. At the top, the caliber is only 3 cm."
The burial position of the pot is also conducive to the preservation of liquid.
According to Yan Fei's introduction, vertically, the bronze pot was buried more than four meters deep, and there is basically no disturbance to its current production and life; horizontally, the pot was unearthed at the tomb gate and was first covered by silt. The entire mouth of the pot is sealed by hard soil, forming a closed space inside the pot.
Medicinal wine confirms the identity of the tomb owner as a samurai
The conclusion that the liquid in the pot is medicinal liquor can further confirm the identity of the owner of the tomb.
Yan Fei told a reporter from the Beijing News that after professional analysis, the owner of the tomb was a warrior about 1.8 meters tall. "In the tomb we found sabers, bronze mirrors, and jade objects. The jade swords (of the owner of the tomb) are very beautiful. There are decorations that can only be used by nobles. This bottle of medicinal wine has hemostatic effect, which may be related to the injury of the tomb owner before his life. It also further confirms the tomb owner's identity as a warrior."
It is nothing new for the ancients to use wine as sacrificial objects.
Yan Fei explained that it was common for the ancients to put food and drink in the tomb, but it was generally difficult to survive.
Before this, some archaeologists unearthed liquor and other liquids in the tombs.
In 2018, a pot of liquid was unearthed from an ancient tomb in Luoyang, which contained alumite and other ingredients, which was a "fairy medicine" made by the ancients through alchemy.
At present, the ancient wine of the Western Han Dynasty is sealed and kept in the warehouse of the Sanmenxia Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. Professor Yang Yimin said that he will conduct further scientific and technological tests on the samples, "analyze proteins, isotopes, etc., hoping to obtain information on raw materials, production processes and functions. ."