China's first imperial mausoleum: How mysterious is Qin Shihuang's mausoleum? Why has no one dared to dig for more than two thousand years?
On January 29, 1974, Yang Zhifa, a villager in Xiyang Village, Lintong County, Shaanxi Province, accidentally dug up a pottery warrior's head while drilling a well for drought resistance, and reported it to the government. The government reported it to the central government. The central government sent an archaeological team to investigate. A huge underground army was discovered.
If the ancient Egyptian pyramids are the largest above-ground royal tombs in the world, then the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang is the largest underground royal tomb in the world. Its construction took 36 years and recruited more than 700,000 laborers, almost eight times the number of people who built the Pyramid of Khufu.
Since the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor was discovered, the debate around it has never stopped, "What is the structure of the underground palace?" "How many rare treasures are hidden in the underground palace?" "Is there an anti-theft mechanism in the underground palace?" ?” “Is the first emperor a copper coffin, a sarcophagus, or a wooden coffin?” “Is the first emperor’s bones intact?”… So many suspenses are waiting to be revealed.
More than 40 years have passed since it was first discovered, and the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang has never been excavated, mainly because there is a huge controversy surrounding whether to excavate, mainly around three aspects:
First, technical difficulties.
The Mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shihuang, which has been detected so far, is 515 meters long from north to south and 485 meters wide from east to west, covering an area of nearly 250,000 square meters.
The first step in excavation is to build a house (or shed) of at least the same size, which is wind, rain, and sun protection. For now, this should not be too difficult.
Second, archaeological excavation is not like in the Tomb Raider TV series, where you find a cave and climb into it. Instead, you need to remove the covering soil layer by layer from top to bottom. The amount of soil removal is not small.
Third, the groundwater level in the Qinling area is quite high, and water can be seen at 16 meters from the ground, while the underground palace is below 26 meters. When excavating, the water needs to be drained out quickly and in time, otherwise the underground palace may be completely submerged by flood water. This drainage device need to be resolved.
Fourth, it has been confirmed that there will be a large amount of mercury in the mausoleum. Mercury is volatile and highly toxic. How to pass through these mercury sealing layers will also be a big technical problem.
Fifth, and this is the most critical point, how to protect the excavated cultural relics?
Because the cultural relics in the mausoleum, such as colored paintings, silk paintings, murals, lacquerware, bamboo slips, pottery, woodware, etc., have been buried underground for more than 2,000 years, and the interior has formed a balanced state. Once excavated, this balance will be broken, and if it is not properly protected, it will cause irreversible losses.
Similar cases have happened many times.
For example, in the excavation of the Mawangdui Han tomb, when the female corpse of Mawangdui was just unearthed, the vegetables (lotus root slices) in the tableware buried with her were not even rotten.
For example, some ivory products have been unearthed in southern China. When these ivory products were unearthed, they were white and smooth, but they turned into dark powder in less than two hours.
Second, legal and political difficulties.
The State Administration of Cultural Heritage has long made clear regulations: " For the time being, no active excavation of large imperial mausoleums will be carried out . " Except in the following three cases:
One is that due to natural weathering, ancient tombs in the wild are exposed to the ground, or are flooded, etc., requiring rescue excavation.
The second is that due to modern construction, ancient tombs were accidentally dug, and reported to the Cultural Relics Bureau, which came to carry out protective excavations, such as Mawangdui Han Tomb and Zhongshan Jingwang Tomb.
The third is because the ancient tomb was stolen, and a robbery hole leading directly to the tomb was found, and rescue excavations were carried out, such as the Shizishan Han Tomb.
In addition, the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor and the Pit of Terracotta Warriors and Horses were approved by UNESCO to be included in the World Heritage List as early as 1987.
Therefore, the excavation of the Qin Mausoleum still has foreign-related issues, inconsistent industry standards, and even the problem of whether China's historical and cultural resources can be shared by all countries participating in the excavation.
Third, dig out the required human and financial resources
Among the pre-Qin ancient tombs that have been excavated in China, the largest tomb is Qin Jinggong No. 1, with an area of 5,334 square meters. It was discovered in 1976 and completed in 1986. It took a full ten years.
Tomb No. 1 of Qin Jinggong, Fengxiang County, Shaanxi Province
The Terracotta Warriors and Horses pit covers an area of about 20,000 square meters. Three pits have been dug so far, and it took more than 30 years. However, the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor covers an area of about 250,000 square meters. How many years will it take to dig? Estimated at least 300 years. This is not something that happens overnight, but requires the unremitting efforts of several generations and hundreds of years.
For such a long period of excavation, if there is no sufficient financial support, the excavation work cannot be started at all, and even if it is started, it will be difficult to maintain it for a long time.
If we really want to excavate, Shaanxi alone will definitely not be able to complete it. We need to mobilize hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of archaeologists from all over the country. Sales expenditure is also not a small amount.