Chinanews.com, Chongqing, December 12 (Reporter Zhong Yi) The reporter learned from the Chongqing Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology on the 5th that the institute recently discovered a well-preserved and rare Western Han Dynasty tomb with a clear date in Wulong District, Chongqing City-Guankou Western Han Dynasty No. 5 Tomb.
According to reports, with the approval of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, from March 2023 to the present, the Chongqing Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology has launched the cultural relics protection work of the Baima Avionics Hub Project, and carried out archaeological excavations on 3 underground cultural relics within the scope of the project, among which the harvest of the No. 17 tomb of the Western Han Dynasty at the pass is the most important, and more than 600 precious cultural relics such as lacquerware, woodware, bamboo, pottery, and bronze ware have been unearthed. It is worth mentioning that the "dry branch wooden scum" unearthed by this archaeology is the first discovery in the country.
The picture shows the staff of the Chongqing Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology carrying out the survey work. Courtesy of Chongqing Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology
Guankou Xihan No. 6 Tomb is located in the hinterland of Wujiang River, Jiangkou Town, Wulong District, between the first and second level platforms on the right bank of Wujiang River, it is a rectangular vertical pit soil pit wooden coffin tomb, the tomb mouth is 50.4 meters long, 25.4-30.4 meters wide, and 13.4-78.<> meters deep from the current surface. Because the tomb is full of water all the year round and has not been damaged by theft, the coffin, the coffin and the burial goods are well preserved.
The picture shows a lacquer ear cup unearthed during this archaeological excavation. Courtesy of Chongqing Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology
The No. 1 tomb of the Western Han Dynasty in Guankou is a major archaeological discovery of the Qin and Han dynasties in the Wujiang River Basin. Huang Wei, deputy research librarian of Chongqing Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and leader of the archaeological excavation, introduced that the No. 1 tomb of the Western Han Dynasty in Guankou is the most well-preserved wooden coffin tomb found in the southwest region, and it is also the tomb with the most lacquered wood and bamboo artifacts unearthed at one time in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and it is also the only "Qingshui Tomb" found in Chongqing so far.
At present, the relics in the coffin have been cleaned up. The wooden coffin has been taken to the on-site cultural relics protection laboratory for cleaning in a complete box. Among the more than 600 pieces of utensils unearthed this time, the lacquerware is mostly ear cups and lacquer plates, and lacquer tables, lacquer cases, lacquer bottles, lacquer urns, lacquer boxes, lacquer pots, etc.; Wooden tools are mainly models of wooden rafts, cars, boats, figurines, etc.; Bamboo utensils can be seen bamboo tubes, bamboo pipes, bamboo bows and bamboo flutes; Bronze utensils include copper spears, copper tripods, copper washes, copper pots, copper pots, etc.; Pottery is seen in clay pots, pottery and so on.
The picture shows the lacquered wood unearthed by this archaeology. Courtesy of Chongqing Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology
Huang Wei revealed that in the excavation work, the unearthed cultural relics "Ganzhi Wooden Slip" is a major discovery "the first in the country". There are a total of 23 pieces of "Dry Branch Wooden Scroll", except for one ink book "Today", the remaining 22 pieces are all single-character ink books for ten days and twelve earth branches. "This set of dry-branched wooden slabs is very well preserved, and the sides of the wooden slabs are all perforated with circular holes, which are presumed to have been connected by ropes. However, because it was discovered for the first time, its use at that time and the purpose of the burial still need to be verified. ”
The picture shows the cultural relics unearthed by the archaeological "Ganzhi Wooden Raft". Courtesy of Chongqing Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology
The reporter learned that in order to strengthen the excavation and protection work, the Chongqing Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology has set up a team composed of more than 20 professional and technical personnel such as archaeological excavation, scientific and technological archaeology, cultural relics protection, plant archaeology, zooarchaeology, surveying, mapping, and photography; In addition, a team of 20 experts has been set up to carry out archaeological excavations and cultural relics protection consulting work in the fields of archaeology, science and technology, conservation, and bamboo slips.
Huang Wei said that at present, the rescue excavation work is nearing completion. In the next step, the Chongqing Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology will continue to cooperate with a number of scientific research institutions to carry out cultural relics restoration, protection and research. (ENDS)