In 1992, a farmer in Shaanxi province had just cut down an old tree that had stood for decades by the edge of his field. While grumbling that the tree was “stealing nutrients from the soil,” he vigorously dug at the roots with his hoe. Suddenly, the hoe struck something that sounded strikingly like glass—a sharp, clear crack that startled him.
Once he gathered his senses and looked closer, he realized it wasn’t glass at all but a piece of porcelain. This discovery shocked him even more—what trouble had he stumbled upon? After confirming that his hoe had indeed shattered a porcelain shard, the farmer dropped the hoe to the ground and carefully peeled back the earth around the exposed fragment. To his surprise, more shards surfaced. He wiped off the dirt with a cloth and held the pieces up to the sunlight, revealing that these porcelain fragments were not from a single item but from multiple distinct pieces.
展开剩余90%Recalling that an archaeological team had recently come to a neighboring village to collect old artifacts, offering varying sums for them, the farmer’s curiosity grew. Some villagers had even sold their old pickle jars for decent money, which had sparked his greed. Now faced with artifacts he had never seen before, he lost all interest in his work. Hastily bundling the fragments in his headscarf, he hopped on his old bicycle and rushed to the archaeology team’s base in the neighboring village.
Fortunately, the team was still there. Excited, the farmer handed over the porcelain shards to the experts, eyes full of expectation, hoping for a good price. The expert examined the pieces carefully, his expression growing serious. After someone fetched water and cleaned the fragments thoroughly, the expert declared, “These are from the Han Dynasty.”
Then the expert turned to the farmer and asked, “Where exactly did you find these shards?” The farmer, nervous but eager, clutched his cloth tightly, not answering directly, instead stammering, “How much… how much are they worth?” The crowd burst into laughter at his question. The expert set down the shards, stood up, and gently patted the farmer on the shoulder with a smile. “These are just everyday utensils, and they’re broken fragments, so they’re not very valuable. The real value is where you found them. Tell me where you dug, and I’ll give you ten yuan.”
The farmer’s face shifted from disappointment to delight. Draping the cloth over his arm, he pointed at his bicycle and said, “Come with me. It’s right by my field, freshly dug.” The group quickly followed him out of the courtyard. Those with bicycles led the way, while others walked behind, curious to see what lay ahead. After about half an hour, they reached the farmer’s field and saw the large pit where the tree had been uprooted.
The hole was surprisingly deep—so deep that it went beyond the boundary marker buried during land division. The expert tied a rope and carefully descended into the pit. After receiving a “Luoyang shovel” and a spade from above, he began digging downward. Sure enough, he soon encountered more fragments. Clearing the soil, he shone a flashlight on the shards, which varied in size and pattern. After closely examining them, the expert confirmed, “These are all Han Dynasty artifacts.”
The narrow pit, roughly a square meter at the bottom, was too small for others to help. The expert carefully shoveled around, clearing a circular area about one meter in diameter, where the fragments were scattered unevenly in the soil. He firmly believed a Han Dynasty tomb lay beneath.
However, after digging another ten or so centimeters deeper, the soil returned to normal earth, and no more artifacts appeared. Undeterred, the expert dug around the edges, but still found nothing. Feeling uncertain, he started doubting his initial theory, thinking maybe the shards were simply discarded pieces by some bored ancient person. Suddenly, he remembered the Luoyang shovel beside him and slapped his forehead in frustration, “How could I forget this tool?”
Though called a shovel, the Luoyang shovel actually works more like a drill, cutting downward and extracting a core of soil to examine its layers for artifacts, helping archaeologists determine if a tomb lies below. It can reach depths of over ten meters and remains a widely used method today.
Using the Luoyang shovel, the expert made several more attempts, but no new fragments appeared. Just as he was about to give up, the afternoon sun hit the pit directly, illuminating a reddish patch in the soil. The crowd called out to the expert, alerting him to the unusual soil color.
The expert shone his light on the soil beneath the red patch and carefully scraped off a small portion. After crushing and inspecting it under the light, he excitedly concluded, “This is cinnabar.”
Most people are familiar with cinnabar today—widely used in religious institutions to make “blessed” cinnabar bracelets that sell for hundreds or even thousands of yuan. Historically, cinnabar was highly valued for its supposed ability to ward off evil and misfortune.
In ancient China, cinnabar was commonly placed in tombs as a burial item for wealthy or noble individuals, believed to protect the deceased. Finding cinnabar here strongly suggested that this was indeed a tomb. After probing in several directions and uncovering more cinnabar layers, the expert’s certainty grew: a tomb definitely existed underground, and it likely contained treasures.
After reporting to his superiors and joining a newly arrived archaeological team, the two groups began a systematic excavation. Their excitement eventually gave way to disappointment.
Why disappointed? Because, although the tomb contained precious cinnabar, it was quite small—only 3.1 meters long and 1 meter wide. Even for an ordinary wealthy merchant family, such a tomb would seem modest at best. The archaeologists had not yet dated the tomb precisely, but based on its size alone, if it was from a relatively recent era, it would have limited research value.
Fortunately, things took a turn for the better. Soil analysis revealed the tomb likely dated back to the pre-Qin period, specifically the early Eastern Zhou Dynasty during the beginning of the Spring and Autumn era. This ancient dating reinvigorated the team’s efforts.
Two days later, they uncovered a tomb roughly three to four square meters in area. Upon entering, they were astonished by the sight. Though small, the chamber was filled with a variety of aged artifacts. At the center lay a coffin, now partially decayed.
They carefully approached the coffin and used tools to pry open the lid, hoping to find well-preserved relics. To their surprise and disappointment, the coffin was empty—no remains, no clothing, nothing. This puzzled the experts deeply.
However, the tomb’s other contents were plentiful and valuable. The first items found were two short swords. The first was remarkably well preserved and of high quality—an artifact that would be priceless outside. A few days later, they found a second sword, similar but heavily corroded and far less intact than the first.
Besides the swords, the experts uncovered numerous gold objects, weighing a total of about three kilograms—the largest collection of gold artifacts ever unearthed at a single site in the region. The tomb also contained various jade items, representing multiple types. Though small, the tomb was rich in treasures.
Based on these finds, the experts dated the artifacts to the early Eastern Zhou period, around the start of the Spring and Autumn era. Despite establishing the time period, the purpose of the tomb puzzled them. Empty coffins without artifacts are not unheard of, but a tomb so rich in treasures yet lacking any human remains was rare. Could this indicate grave robbers with strange motives?
After lengthy discussion, the experts tentatively concluded that this tomb was not meant for burial but rather as a cache for valuables. Judging by the high quality of the items, it was likely a noble family from the Qin state who buried these treasures here, perhaps intending to retrieve them later. Due to subsequent turmoil and war, the site was abandoned and forgotten until rediscovery.
As for the Han Dynasty porcelain shards found by the farmer, they were probably left behind by ancient grave robbers who had heard rumors of a treasure but, failing to find it or deterred by the tomb’s small size, gave up digging—leaving behind some drinking vessels. This explains the farmer’s unexpected discovery of the porcelain fragments while tilling his field.
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