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    Culture

    Breakdown of treasures from Haihunhou Cemetery(2)

    1
    2016-03-03 10:24Xinhua Editor: Gu Liping

    CHIMES, FIGURINES

    Two sets of chimes were also unearthed. One is a 10-piece set, and the other is a 14-piece set. The latter will be at the Beijing show.

    The chimes were restored by renowned bronze relic expert Yang Xiaolin. He said the pieces, each bell shaped, have been cleaned and polished. The pieces made of gold-gilded bronze with decoration marks can still make beautiful sounds.

    Besides the chimes, there is a set of iron chime and other musical instruments including Guqin (or Chinese zither) and panpipe, as well as 36 figurines of musicians.

    The outfit of musical instruments suggests the characters were dignitaries in ancient China.

    SMOKE-ABSORBING LAMPS

    Two bronze lamps that can "swallow" smoke were unearthed from the Haihunhou tomb.

    The lamps are both in the shape of a goose catching a fish in its mouth. The light is attached to the fish. Smoke emitted during the burning of wax enters the bird's body via an intake on the fish, travel through its neck and is then dissolved by water in the hollow belly.

    It is both an artwork and an example of ancient innovation. The lamps can be dismantled for cleaning and have swinging lamp shades to adjust the brightness.

    TROVE OF GOLD ITEMS

    The amount of gold items unearthed from the Haihunhou tomb is the largest single batch ever found in a Han Dynasty tomb, according to archeologists.

    A total of 378 gold artifacts including 189 very large gold coins were found.

    The round coins weigh about 250 grams each, while gold hoof-shaped coins weigh from 40 to 250 grams.

    At the bottom of the gold hoof, there are different characters of "up", "middle" and "bottom."

    WUZHU BRONZE COINS

    More than 10 tonnes of Wuzhu bronze coins were unearthed from the tomb. The coins were arranged in groups of 1,000, with each set strung on a cord.

    Before the finding, historical documents had suggested that a string of 1,000 coins was a monetary unit, which was thought to have originated in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). This is the first hard evidence of the monetary unit, and has pushed the original date back 600 years.

    Archeologists had to crouch on a wooden board balanced precariously over a tomb bed 9 meters below to meticulously count and clear the coins. The coins are strung on hemp ropes. Although the ropes had weathered, people were able to identify the strings.

    Six complete strings of bronze coins were cleared out at the dig. One of them will be brought to the show.

    The excavation of Haihunhou Tomb began in 2011. It has been recognized as a model archeological research and relic protection project. In addition to the relics, archeologists are preserving the tomb site and preparing to apply for it to be inscribed on UNESCO's world heritage list.

    Jiangxi's cultural department cataloged each find. Several labs and research teams have been working separately on archaeobotany, zooarchaeology as well as studies on textiles, metals and historical records.

      

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