Chapter 85
dy become very small."Tap," something threw a small clod of earth our way, testing us.We pretended to sleep, with our eyes closed, no one moved.I clutched the wooden stick hidden under my arm, terrifi...The tomb was dark, a huge white coffin stood by the side with two bronze figures. The whole scene was eerie and unsettling to behold.
At this, the leader exclaimed in surprise, "This tomb owner is really unconventional! He didn't stay in the main chamber like he should have, instead hiding himself alone in this obscure corner. What's his intention And there are no valuable burial goods here, just these two bronze figures. At first glance, I thought they were Terracotta Warriors."
He shone his flashlight on the bronze statue.
"Maybe this remote corner is a feng shui treasure trove, huh A casket made of conch shell, wow," Third Brother said in a low voice: "This tomb owner must be incredibly wealthy. Just watch me, I'll open it up for him."
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After finishing his words, he took out a folding small steel shovel from his bag. This shovel wasn't very big, similar to an engineer's shovel. It could not only dig soil but also pry open coffin boards.
Big Brother used his flashlight to help illuminate the area, while Third Brother walked around the coffin with a shovel. I knew he was looking for the place where the skylight should be.
In ancient times, whether it was commoners or nobles, a small opening would be intentionally left in the burial chamber and even the coffin. This opening was very small, symbolizing that the person inside could ascend to heaven with their soul.
This small opening is called a skylight.
During the Tang and Song dynasties, the term "ceiling" was changed to "wood well." In the Ming and Qing dynasties, it was renamed "living mouth," but all these changes were simply variations of the same fundamental characteristic.
For some unknown reason, the temperature in the chamber where the coffin was laid was very low, extremely cold, almost freezing.
"Found it!" Third Brother's eyes lit up, he stopped at the northwest corner of the coffin.
There's a rectangular small hole in this coffin, Lao San said this opening is what they call the skylight.
The principle of a is actually very easy to understand. It's just like what people often say now, nesting dolls, big ones fitting inside smaller ones, layer by layer. If you want to pry it open, you can only do it layer by layer.
The number of layers in a coffin also has rules.
The emperor had a four-tiered coffin, princes and dukes had a three-tiered coffin, officials and scholars had a one-tiered coffin. For those in lower ranks, only coffins were allowed after death, no coffins were permitted.
The framework of the structure uses a dovetail joint, without a single nail.
After a thousand years, the mortise and tenon structure had become very fragile. With a little effort from my shovel, the outermost layer of the coffin began to loosen.
Once you open a slit, the next step is simple, just peel it.
The big boss went up to help as well. The two of them were seasoned veterans who had worked together for many years, their cooperation was seamless. In less than half an hour, they opened the first layer of the coffin.
On closer inspection, everyone was shocked.
Beneath this layer of white mother-of-pearl, there was actually a layer of black metal coffin.
Hong Jie exclaimed after seeing it: "It's oxidized, this is silver!"
Silver guardian!
Were there silver artifacts during the Western Zhou period
Yes! But very few!
In the 1970s, the Shanxi Archaeology Team unearthed a silver burial shroud inscribed with the words "Yue Ling Fu Ren." This silver shroud is a national treasure and is permanently prohibited from being exhibited abroad.
But before our eyes was a silver coffin board measuring several meters in length and width!
On closer inspection, the silver guard blackened by oxidation seemed to still be engraved with some patterns.
"Three Older Brother's expression was agitated as he exclaimed, 'It’s opened! It’s opened! This is truly amazing. Just these two layers of coffin boards are so remarkable. What kind of treasure could be inside the innermost coffin'"
Although the ceiling was a weakness, it still took quite a bit of effort to open that silver coffin.
"Watch out! Be careful, don't step on it, this thing is heavy!"
"Wait for me, Third Brother!"
"Look! There's water flowing ahead!"
Only then did they see, following the cracks in the silver casing, a lot of black, viscous fluid oozing out. And it was getting more and more, with a pungent stench filling the air!
"Fall back!" The Sun siblings quickly retreated.
The black water in the silver fir board kept flowing and increasing, spreading all over the floor.ent, piled high with gold, silver, and jewels.The little bean sprout had a big gold necklace around his neck, an ancient golden crown on his head, seven or eight gold rings on his hands, and he kept s...