Live appraising treasures, I became a national treasure expert?

Chapter 348 Found it

The printer buzzed and spit out a form. Fang Zhijie handed it over.

Li Ding'an carefully looked at: the silica-alumina ratio of clay particles, free iron oxide of fine soil, kaolinite, illite, montmorillonite...

Lao Ma is right, this is the closest to the sample data.

It means that we are not far from finding the kiln site...

There was no sound around him, and he subconsciously raised his head:

Ma Xianming held his mobile phone with a confused look on his face?

Several team leaders and researchers looked at each other at a loss?

"What are you doing standing still? Call Captain Xing."

"True Detective Peak?"

"Tan!"

First it was the river bank, then it was the foot of the mountain, then it was the mountainside, and now it is the top of the mountain?

"Is it necessary or can't find it?" Ma Xianming's expression was indescribable pain. "In a few days, will we still have to explore the cliffs and valleys?"

Don’t tell me, it’s really possible!

But this is inconsistent with common sense: the darker the color of the porcelain clay, the higher the iron oxide content, and the darker the color of the fired porcelain body, and vice versa.

The lower the better, the general iron mass fraction is below one percent.

"No, just in Naiman!"

“I’ve never seen it before… At least in Naiman’s historical geological and environmental monitoring data, we’ve never found old soil with such a high iron content!”

What happens if you turn it over?

He turned it over and was stunned: "Red?"

"Teacher Li, your breakfast!"

Thank God, I finally waited for this sentence...

It is very exquisite and very distinctive, but this is due to the overglaze color process. What does it have to do with porcelain clay?

In doubt, he raised his head, and Li Ding'an raised his chin: "Zuo Bureau, turn over!"

Li Ding'an nodded: "Yes, red!"

Li Ding'an thoughtfully said, "Xiao Shu, take a specimen and relevant information...and bring two cups of tea..."

Therefore, when choosing clay for this piece of porcelain, the porcelain clay is red.

It's not big, about four or five centimeters in diameter. It's cut into a square shape with obvious curvature. It's probably cut from some complete object.

If you look closely, you will see that the leaves, stems, branches, and petals are all higher than the carcass, giving it a very three-dimensional feel.

"No trouble!"

Zuo Peng smiled and said, "Teacher Li, how about we go to the side?"

"This is wrong!"

The glaze is very bright, and the white porcelain is fine, greasy, and very thin. If he hadn't held it in his hand, Zuo Peng would have almost thought it was cut from an enamel jar rather than a piece of porcelain.

Understand: this is not ordinary smooth porcelain, but relief porcelain. The higher the plasticity, the better it can be carved.

……

Li Ding'an pushed gently, and the porcelain piece came to Zuo Peng.

Finally got to the point?

"Look for similar soil, that is, the porcelain clay of Mongolian porcelain!"

It’s great to be young…

Zuo Peng picked it up and looked at the glaze first: a peony, very bright in color, typical of the pastel style of the late Qing Dynasty, but more vivid than pastel porcelain.

Secondly, it will affect the refractoriness: the higher the iron, the narrower the firing temperature range, which will increase the chance of deformation of the finished product.

Li Ding'an pointed to the raised pattern, "It's the same as adding iron powder to high-strength cement or adding iron slag to asphalt for road paving!"

This piece of porcelain is so red, at least it is more than 5%... To be honest, after half a lifetime of working in cultural relics and archeology, this is the first time I have seen something like this?

He looked at it for a while and said, "The glaze is so white. Did you use makeup clay?"

The inner tube of porcelain does not need to be glazed. The color of the porcelain clay will be the same color after firing. At most, it should be flattened when molding the tube.

"To enhance plasticity!"

Seeing that he looked like he was constipated, Li Ding'an smiled and said, "Don't worry, we'll go back home if we don't reach the summit yet!"

Ma Xianming breathed a sigh of relief and dialed the number quickly.

With a "squeak", Zuo Peng walked in carrying a lunch box:

They are both double-layered lunch boxes, and they are quite large. One contains porridge and vegetables, and the other contains steamed buns.

"it is good!"

Zuo Peng organized his words: "Teacher Li, could it be that... you are looking in the wrong place?"

Li Ding'an was in a whirlwind, and within a quarter of an hour, the two lunch boxes were turned upside down.

But since the beginning of the history of porcelain, white has always been regarded as beautiful.

"Trouble with the left bureau..."

"Why not just choose light-colored china clay?"

Therefore, no matter which dynasty, generation, or kiln mouth, as long as porcelain is fired, it must be aged, retting, and washing... The purpose is simple: to remove iron.

"Correct!"

Zuo Peng made a visual inspection and found that if it were given to him, it would probably be enough for lunch and dinner, let alone breakfast.

Princess Shoulun of Gu'an married Demu, and Demu was the king of the Naiman tribe. If the craftsmen of these princesses were not making porcelain in Naiman, where could they be?

"But brick-red soil type clay? To be honest, it's very rare in the entire north!"

"It's just rare, but it's not impossible... Zuo Bureau, look at this?"

Li Ding'an pushed over another piece of information, with a photo in the center: a clay sculpture of Mahakala (the protector of Tantric Buddhism), which is very large and stands on the altar.

It must have been there for a long time, the paint has peeled off in many places, and the mud tires are exposed: red?

Let’s look at the information: In the 20th year of Daoguang, Demu was elected as Gu Lun’s forehead. His father, King Ngawang, made statues of the left and right immeasurable Buddhas and Mahakala in Chengshan Temple to pray for the blessing and longevity of Emperor Daoguang.

Afterwards, it was transported to the capital, and after the fourth Imperial Master Zhangjia was asked to recite sutras, it was placed in the main hall of the Forbidden City (a group of Tibetan temples within the palace), and is now in the Baohua Hall of the Forbidden City.

Chengshan Temple, also known as Longwei Temple, is built in the south of the middle part of Qinglong Mountain, less than two kilometers away from the villa.

The idol was sculpted here, but where did the soil come from?

It is impossible to transport it from other places, and most of it is picked locally from Qinglong Mountain.

"The Daoguang period was less than two hundred years ago, so what about the soil?"

"Looking for it!"

"If you are in Qinglong Mountain, it should be easy to find: this kind of soil is rich in iron, aluminum, and silicon, but it is deficient in potassium, phosphorus, and nitrogen. It is also sticky and easy to compact, and even grass cannot grow... ...If there is one, it must be exposed on the surface. There is no need to drill at all, and the drone can take pictures..."

Correspondingly, geological data will be recorded.

But the result is no...

"So I suspect it's buried underground!"

Zuo Peng wanted to say something that was impossible, but when the words came to his lips, he hummed again: How can we explain clearly what is going on underground?

"But what you are exploring now is the top of Laodao Mountain...it is full of rocks, and there are not even a few grasses?"

"What I'm looking for is rocks."

what?

I have been doing cultural relic archeology for half my life. This is the first time I heard about looking for ruins. Are you looking for stones?

“This kind of porcelain clay is developed from the weathering of iron-rich basalt. Therefore, as long as iron-rich basalt can be found on it, the source of porcelain clay can be found in the surrounding area, and then one can follow the clues and find the porcelain kiln...

"There are rocks on the hillside and even more at the foot of the mountain. Why do we have to go up the mountain?"

"The temperature and humidity at the top of the mountain change the most, the salt base is leached the most, the silicon mobility is the highest, and the iron and aluminum enrichment is the most obvious... In other words: the rocks on the top of the mountain are the most weathered, and the basalt is most likely to form brick red soil... "

This statement does make some sense: if you find rocks, you can find porcelain clay, and you can also find porcelain kilns.

Of course, it's just possible. Anyway, Zuo Peng felt that Li Ding'an was getting further and further away.

Fortunately, if you can't find it, you have to withdraw. Anyway, let him do whatever he wants on the last day...

……

The sun had just risen, and the two cars were driving smoothly on the country road.

The first one was a pickup truck, and the compartment contained a variety of tools: steel shovels, iron drills, sledgehammers, drill pipes, drilling rigs, etc., as well as a diesel engine and several barrels of oil.

Behind is a seven-seater off-road vehicle, specially designed to pull people.

Captain Xing drove, Captain Wan sat in the passenger seat, and there were five team members behind him.

The car was very quiet, and their expressions were not very good: They had just arrived at Qinglong Shanwa, had just unloaded the tools and set up the ruler, when Director Ma's call came.

Instead of exploring the depression of Qinglong Mountain, explore Laodao Mountain instead, or the top of the mountain?

To be honest, I want to scold my mother. Laodao Mountain is the highest peak of Qinglong Mountain. It has cliffs on two sides and a rocky beach on one side. Only one side is passable.

But the slope is too high, and there are pits, depressions, and rocks, so the car can't drive up it at all.

What about the tools?

You can only rely on people's backs.

But the damn thing is that what is required to be measured this time is not the soil layer, but the rock layer. It is impossible to drill with purely human tools, so a drill and a generator must be used.

It can only be lifted up by people: and the diesel engine alone weighs 85 kilograms.

The mountain is more than 45 meters high and the slope is greater than . Anyone who has climbed it knows...

The hard work is only secondary: they are all veteran archaeological team members, so they don't understand. You are looking for a porcelain kiln. If you can't find it, it is not unreasonable to look for porcelain clay instead. It can be said that you hold on to Qinglong Mountain.

But why are you competing with rocks?

Based on the experience of more than half a month, we can definitely find nothing in the end, so the team members felt that they were wronged: not to mention the hard work, they just spent time with Li Ding'an...

Not long after, the car arrived at the foot of the mountain, and Xing Feng arranged for the team members to transport tools to the mountain first.

They all had cold faces, and the movement was extremely loud. The bottom of the pickup truck was smashed with a "bang" sound.

Xing Feng clapped his hands and raised his voice: "Cheer up, it's the last day!"

"what?"

"If we can't find it again today, we'll withdraw the team first and wait until spring... Director Ma said it!"

"Director Ma said it doesn't count!"

Xing Feng was choked up: "He was just conveying it, Teacher Li said it himself!"

Wan Chengbiao was stunned: "Damn it, the iron rooster has its feathers plucked?"

"speak nicely!"

Xing Feng glared at him, "Teacher Li is still very professional!"

"Yes... very professional... and very dedicated..."

Captain Wan bared his teeth and smiled, completely different from before, "Brothers, work harder, we have a holiday tomorrow...a long holiday..."

There was a burst of cheering at the foot of the mountain. The movement was very loud, but the speed was several times faster than before.

Thank God, God opened his eyes...

The tools were heavy first and then light. The first thing to lift was the generator. We hired ten nearby villagers and added eight team members. It took almost two hours to get it up the mountain.

The rest is easy to handle. The heaviest drill pipe only weighs thirty kilograms.

Xing Feng and Wan Chengbiao walked at the back, one carrying a sledgehammer and the other a steel drill, both of them used as crutches, moving up the mountain step by step.

After two trips back and forth, I was very tired. When I reached the halfway point of the mountain, Wan Chengbiao sat down and said, "No, I have to take a rest!"

"Okay, take a break!"

Xing Feng looked around and said, "In another place, this place is full of rocks. You don't mind getting stuck in your butt?"

"I can't care less, I'm wearing thick clothes anyway!"

Wan Chengbiao stayed still and lay down, so Xing Feng had no choice but to sit down.

He took out his cigarette case again and lit one each.

The wind was very strong, blowing "whooshing", and in less than two minutes, most of the cigarette was blown away, leaving only a piece of paper.

"Old Xing, where will you go after the team withdraws? Return to the capital?"

"if not?"

"Are you coming next year?"

Xing Feng thought for a while: "Maybe I won't be able to come. I will be stationed in Baoli with Teacher Li in the beginning of spring!"

"Baoli, the central government...should the salary be longer?"

"Well, the level should also be mentioned!"

"Tsk tsk, the subordinate units are good..."

"It has nothing to do with the subordinate unit, it's because Teacher Li... Of course, he is busy enough when he is busy!"

More than just busy?

When Li Ding'an was mentioned, the envy in his heart was wiped away: this guy didn't treat people as human beings at all, including himself, of course.

But being tired is only secondary. The key point is that it is meaningless: just like this time, almost twenty days of day and night, what is the result?

That’s not how archeology works…

He put out the cigarette butt and took a long breath: "It feels a bit substandard!"

The wind was a bit strong, and Xing Feng didn't hear clearly: "What did you say?"

"Teacher Li, your reputation is hard to live up to!"

I heard it clearly this time, and it was very clear that Xing Feng was a little angry: denying Li Ding'an is equivalent to denying Guobo, and it is also equivalent to denying him.

He wanted to argue, but he didn't know where to start: Asking himself, he really couldn't understand Li Ding'an's operation this time.

Field archeology is not research in a laboratory. You can guess, hypothesis, and trial and error. What this industry pays attention to is step-by-step, step-by-step, and one step at a time.

But Li Ding'an was too impatient and always wanted to accomplish it once and for all. He wanted to finish the work of one or two years in one or two months.

Besides, the order is wrong.

Normally, one should follow the map and trace Zaiyi's exile route: first go to Central Asia to find the same physical specimens or related cultural relics, then go to Alxa, find the distribution area of ​​Mongolian porcelain based on physical clues, and then follow the clues. , and finally trace back to the original origin of Mongolian porcelain.

Li Ding'an just did the opposite... no, he omitted all the processes and found the result after just thinking about it.

To be honest, it's unlikely.

Because there are too few clues and too little supporting theoretical basis, many people think that Li Ding'an's determination that the kiln site was in the Qinglong Mountain area was basically based on guesswork.

There are many people who have this idea: including some members of the project team, Director Ma and Director He,

Being so rushed and so tired, the complaints from the local support team became even greater.

There's really no way to explain it...

Xing Feng sighed: "Don't be angry, we will be liberated tomorrow!"

"I just expressed my feelings. If I were angry, I would have given up my career long ago!"

Indeed, the support team is cooperative enough...

"Thank you!"

Xing Feng stretched out his hand, and Wan Chengbiao shook it. They looked at each other, smiled, and stood up holding hands.

"gone!"

Xing Feng picked up the hammer, and Wan Chengbiao picked up the steel drill. As soon as they took a step, there was a "chi" sound.

Lao Wan didn't stand firm and stepped on the air, crushing a piece of hard mud in the pile of rocks.

"what?"

Wan Chengbiao patted his trouser legs and was about to leave, but was held back by Xing Feng: "Don't move!"

The sound was so loud, almost a roar, that Lao Wan was startled.

In a daze, Xing Feng squatted down, picked up the mud and knocked it.

With a "bang", the mud broke into several pieces. He twisted it again and his pupils shrank sharply.

"It's suet!"

"what?"

"A kind of weathered stone."

"A weathered stone is a weathered stone, why are you so excited... Damn it, why are you still licking it?"

"How do you know if you don't lick?"

Bah, bah, Xing Feng's lips trembled slightly: "It's sheep oil gangue, whose scientific name is halloysite. It is a watery old soil. It is the main raw material for firing high-end porcelain and electromagnetic... It is also the weathered iron-rich basalt in the later stage. The product... "further developed is brick red soil high iron alumina clay..."

Isn’t Mongolian porcelain made of red earth porcelain clay?

Well, no...

"found it?"

(End of this chapter)