A?group of ancient tombs was discovered in Shangzhuang
County of Fengcheng City in Jiangxi Province, exciting archaeologists.
Unfortunately they only found two broken pieces of porcelain after
thoroughly searching the tombs because almost all of the sites had
been robbed.
Just as they were thinking about giving up the search, having
discovered that the last tomb they checked was empty of relics, the
scientists located a new, hidden tomb linked to the empty one via a
side grave room. At first when they perceived the big hole, they
thought that it was a tunnel dug by tomb robbers.
But when they explored through the tunnel, they found a
well-protected tomb with more than a dozen exquisite celadon pieces
of porcelain laid inside a coffin. Actually it is quite rare to
find these kinds of connected twin tombs. Experts have guessed that
they were a set built specifically for a husband and wife.
The archaeologists explained that ancient people spent a great
amount of time building their tombs while alive. Construction could
last from several months to dozens of years. These two tombs were
apparently built together; coffins were placed inside after the
owners died.
Shivered stones surrounded the newly discovered coffin. Over
time these stones formed a protective layer for the coffin.
Archaeologists said that the empty tomb linked to this one was
not definitely robbed. Since shivered stones protected the inner
tomb and the outer tomb did not have that kind of shield, and
because they couldn't find the tunnel dug by robbers,
archaeologists now surmise that the host of the tomb may have died
in a place far away from his hometown after the tomb was
finished.?
There are many pieces of celadon porcelain in the
well-protected, inner tomb, including an ink stone, calyx, plate,
spittoon, fruit plate, pot, bowl, cup and counterweight. This
ceramic ware, although some is broken, displays a glaze technique
of a high level so it's quite valuable.
A porcelain pot, with two circle veins on its neck and a concave
vein on the bottom, was found in the tomb. This is the first time a
pot of this shape has been found.
A porcelain counterweight was also discovered in the tomb.
Counterweights are not rare in China, but a celadon one is really a
new find in China's archaeology history.
Now that the excavation work has finished, archaeologists are
starting to study and repair these celadon pieces. The site is
under government protection. It's the first time such a large scale
group of tombs around Fengcheng City has been found.
This porcelain counterweight, the first of
its kind in Jiangxi, was found in the tomb.
A porcelain vessal, with two circle veins on
its neck, was discovered in the tomb. This is the first time a pot
of this shape has been found in the province.
(China.org.cn by Chen Lin October 20, 2007)
