Master Archaeologist

Chapter 222 Representative Tombs of the Ancient Silk Road
Although there are quite a few of the four side rooms, the archaeological team has more staff.

So it didn't take much effort, and in just two or three days, the four side rooms were cleaned up.

To be honest, there are not many cultural relics obtained.

After being stolen and excavated several times, the cultural relics that can still be left in the tomb are really only a few corners.

After cleaning out the four side chambers, there were no more than a dozen complete cultural relics.

Most of the rest are fragments of silk and leather.

The fragments of the two add up to one or two thousand pieces.

It has been a long time since cultural relic restoration institutions have been working hard.

However, although not many cultural relics have been unearthed, the tomb itself is still very important.

Tomb No. 2020 in Xinxuewei in [-] is one of the high-level tombs with the most complete layout, the clearest structure, and the most complex shape discovered in the Rehui Tombs and even the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau!

The burial structures including the cemetery, sacrificial buildings, sacrificial pits, and a main room with four side rooms are important discoveries in the archaeological research of Shuhui tombs.

It is also the first time to reveal the basic features of the shape of the Tuyuhun Mausoleum.

Well, although it is said that the shape of the Tuyuhun Mausoleum was integrated with the Tubo culture, it is no longer the earliest form of the Tuyuhun Tomb.

However, this still provides important information for the study of the ancient Chinese tomb system.

Although the Tuyuhun nation has perished, the blood of this nation is still passed down from generation to generation in the Huaxia people.

Many Chinese people living in the Qinghai area today are actually Tuyuhun people in their ancestors.

Therefore, studying this tomb is very important to Chinese history and tomb culture.

The scientific research value of the tomb itself has far exceeded those of the unearthed cultural relics.

According to the members of the archaeological team's field investigation, data collection, drawing, and understanding of the structure, it can be found.

The entire tomb has been carefully planned and designed, and the construction process followed relatively mature construction methods. The tomb has construction passages and anti-theft facilities.

The tomb is a multi-chamber structure with wood and stone mixed. The functions of each tomb are divided to a certain extent, and the structural design is carried out according to their functional differences.The main tomb has white wall paintings and a red dougong wooden structure, just like an underground palace building.

Stone millstones, lacquerware, and pottery were found in the south 1 side room. The pottery contained carbonized plant particles, and a wooden table with sheep bones on it was also found, which is presumed to be a cooking place.

The north 2 side room has a specially made wooden bed for moisture-proof, combined with a large number of unearthed silk and leather, it is speculated that it is a place to store clothing.

And the coffin lid was found next to the wooden bed, but no bones were found.

It shows that a concubine of the owner of the tomb and her burial objects should be buried in the north 2 side room at the same time.

Just because no bones were found, there is really no way to do this for the time being.

However, this five-chamber tomb was discovered for the first time in the Tubo period!
This shows that this five-chamber structure should be Tuyuhun's own tomb culture.

Moreover, the construction of the tomb made comprehensive use of various building materials such as stone, wood, brick, and adobe, which is a new discovery of the high-level tomb structure in the Tubo period, and also provides important information for the restoration of the construction process of the high-level tombs in the Shuhui tomb group.

In the south 2 side room, a batch of harnesses, bronze armor, iron armor, lacquer armor, etc. were unearthed. These should be because the tomb robbers thought it was too big to move, so they didn't steal it.

However, these remaining armor pieces are exactly in line with the record in the literature about Tubo's "its armor is excellent, the clothes are all over the body, the eyes are pierced, and the sharp bow and sharp blade can't hurt too much".

Chen Han's previous guess that Tuyuhun's metallurgical technology level is not good can be overturned.

Perhaps Tuyuhun's own metallurgical level is not good, but Tubo's metallurgical level is clearly recorded in historical documents, and the level is very good.

Otherwise, Tubo would not have been wiped out by Datang, and they would have won and lost each other.

You must know that the title of "Giant Tang" in the Tang Dynasty was not obtained by giving the territory of the Tang Dynasty for nothing.

The territory of the Giant Tang was all conquered by the generals and soldiers of the Great Tang!
When the Tang Dynasty was at its most prosperous, it was nine thousand nine hundred miles from Chang'an to the farthest frontier of the Western Regions!
In the northeast, it also reaches the Outer Northeast region, which is adjacent to Bohai State.

The east and south sides are already connected to the sea.

Only in the west, because the Tubo Kingdom is entrenched, the Tang Dynasty has been unable to open up the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau for a long time!
This can also show how powerful the Tubo Kingdom was back then.

Yes, they were not conquered by the Tang Dynasty, and they were able to fight each other for 200 years. Many areas in Hexi, Gansu, and Qinghai of the Tang Dynasty fell to the Tibetans.

And to achieve such a record, the weapons of the Tubo Kingdom are definitely not bad.

A series of armor and harness found in the Xinxuewei No. [-] tomb provided important information for the study of the handicraft production process, production technology, organizational form, etc. when the area was under the rule of Tubo!
In addition, a large number of animal bones found in the chamber on the south side and grape seeds found in the main tomb are also important harvests.

In-depth research through animal and plant archaeology, feeding habits analysis, ancient DNA detection and other multi-disciplinary methods is of great significance for understanding the race, ethnicity and business model of the Shuhui tomb group.

According to the Dunhuang document "Zanpu Biography" in ancient Tibetan, during Chide Zuzan period, common people and Guizhou heads were generally able to wear fine silk from the Tang Dynasty.

Through the archaeological excavation of this tomb, a large number of silk fabrics were unearthed, and it can be found that its weaving techniques and patterns have multiple sources.

This is undoubtedly evidence. This tomb is located in the Dulan area, which was indeed an important transit point on the Silk Road.

The excavation of this tomb also provides new information for the study of the Qinghai Road on the Silk Road, the burial customs of the Rehui tomb group, and the activities and cultural transmission of ancient ethnic groups in the eastern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau!

It can be said that although the discovery of cultural relics in this tomb is indeed not satisfactory.

But the importance of the tomb behind it is definitely very special.

This is a large tomb in the Central Plains at the same time as the Tang Dynasty, which may not be able to be given.

After all, the history of the Tang Dynasty in the Central Plains is still very clear, and basically there is no need to find answers from tombs.

However, most of the history of Tuyuhun, or the Tubo Kingdom, and its influence on the Silk Road can only be understood from the few records in the Dunhuang collection.

Now there are real objects unearthed and tombs found on the Silk Road, which are very important to complete the history of Tubo and the Silk Road!

The above-ground cemetery, sacrificial buildings, coffin bed, and dougong decoration in the main tomb of this tomb have obvious cultural characteristics of the Central Plains.

In addition, a large number of silk fabrics from the Central Plains and five-color stones with religious colors were unearthed from the tombs, which fully proves the important role of the Qinghai Road on the Silk Road, and also reflects the strong radiation and influence of the Central Plains culture.

For China, which is now heading for rejuvenation, this kind of tomb is conducive to national unity and can endorse the cultural influence of the Central Plains.

Its importance is very ingenious.

Especially in this critical period when the Belt and Road Initiative was proposed.

Huaxia is about to write a special book on the "Ancient Silk Road", and the appearance of this tomb is just right!
It is foreseeable that this tomb will soon become a representative tomb of China's "Ancient Silk Road", and it will be publicized on the Internet!

(End of this chapter)