On December 14th, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage held an important progress work meeting on the major project of "Archaeology china", which introduced the progress and academic significance of the three Han and Tang archaeological projects of The Jiangcun Tomb in Xi'an, Shaanxi, the Zhengpingfang Ruins in Luoyang, Henan, and the Tuguhun Tomb Group in Wuwei, Gansu Province, and Chen Guoke, director of the Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology of Gansu Province, introduced the basic situation, academic achievements and excavation significance of the Wuwei Tianzhu Tuguhun Royal Family Tomb Group online.
Located in the eastern part of the Hexi Corridor, the Wuwei region has been an important area for ethnic minority activities and cultural exchanges since ancient times. The main archaeological cultures in the territory are Majiayao, Mid-Levels, Horse Factory, Xichengyi, Qijia, Shajing and so on. In the fourth year of the first month, the Han Dynasty initially established Wuwei County. During the Sixteen Kingdoms period of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Zhang Rail, Lü Guang, Bald WuGu, and Depressed Canal Mengxun, who successively established Former Liang, Hou Liang, Southern Liang, and Northern Liang, as well as the Great Liang of Li Rail in the early Tang Dynasty, all built the capital in Wuwei. From the 4th to the 10th century, Tuguhun also had a long period of activity here.
Chen Guoke introduced that since the discovery of the tombstone of Princess Honghua in 1915, a number of Tuguhun royal tombs and epitaphs have been discovered in the Nanshan area of Wuwei, mainly concentrated in the area of Qingzui Bay and Lama Bay. The epitaph records that the burial place is mostly "Yanghui Valley", so this area is also known as "Yanghui Valley Mausoleum Area". This is also the overall understanding of the Tomb Group of the Tuguhun Royal Clan in Wuwei Nanshan before 2019.
In September 2019, the Gansu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology conducted rescue excavations of Murong Zhi's tomb in Tianzhu County, Qilian Town, and Chashan Village. More than 800 sets of cultural relics were excavated. Among them, the epitaph is a combination (one party epitaph). Because of its importance, the archaeology of the Tuguhun royal tomb group in Wuwei Nanshan was included in the "Archaeological China" project by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.
"Under the guidance of Mr. Bai Rongjin, an armor restoration expert, we cleaned up and restored the iron armor. The cleaning of the gizzard and the shawl has been completed, and the basic shape of the armor has been roughly mastered. In cooperation with Jilin University, he conducted physical anthropology research and restored the portrait of Murong Zhi. At the same time as the laboratory was cleaned up, we united with a number of units to carry out cultural relics protection work. At present, 92 pieces of pottery painted cultural relics, 30 pieces (sets) of gold and silverware have been restored, and 16 square meters of murals have been restored. 94 textile moisture restoration works have been unveiled, 23 pieces have been cleaned, 20 pieces have been leveled, and 12 pieces have been repaired. 149 pieces of wood lacquerware have been repaired. Chen Guoke said.
Murong Zhi's epitaph indicates that Murong Zhi was Murong Zhi's third son, and the epitaph first mentioned the "Tomb of the Great Khan". According to the location of Murong Zhi's tomb and the epitaph records, we speculate that in the Wuwei Nanshan area, the Tuguhun royal family, in addition to the "Yanghui Valley Mausoleum Area", there is also a "Great Khan Mausoleum Area". His location should be in the area around Murong Zhi's tomb. In order to find the Great Khan's Mausoleum, in 2020, we carried out survey and exploration work in the Wuwei Nanshan area. The survey area is about 400 square kilometers. A total of 23 Tuguhun tombs were confirmed. The tombs are distributed in Tsing Tsui Bay, Lama Bay, Racecourse Beach - Changling, chashan Village, these four areas.
In order to continue to solve the problems related to the Great Khan's Mausoleum, in 2021, the Provincial Institute of Archaeology excavated the Changling M1, Machangtan M1 and M2 in the Changling-Machangtan Tomb Group located between Qingzui Bay, Lama and Wanchashan Village. The three tombs are located in Machangtan Village, Qilian Town, in the hinterland of Qilian Mountain, at the top of a hill facing north and south. The three tombs are all single-chamber brick chamber tombs with sloped tomb passages, which are composed of several parts: the tomb passage, the Yongdao, the closed door, the illuminated wall, and the burial chamber. The three tombs unearthed metal tools, painted pottery, lacquered wood fragments, etc., a total of more than 290 pieces. Among them, the epitaphs excavated from The M2 of Racecourse Beach are combined. The owner of the M2 tomb of Machangtan, "Mrs. Dang clan of Feng Yijun", was buried in the 27th year of the new century, that is, in 739 AD. According to the epitaph records, combined with the literature, it was preliminarily judged that the place was the family cemetery of the Pengzi clan, the leader of the Tugu Hun Pengzi clan.
Regarding the significance of the excavation, Chen Guoke said: "First, through excavation, we obtained a precious cultural relic. It intuitively presents the interaction, exchange, and fusion between Tuguhun and Tang. It reveals the historical facts of the integration of the Tuguhun people into the civilization system of the Central Plains. Second, through excavation, we have further learned about the funerary customs of the Tuguhun royal family. Third, through archaeological investigation and excavation, the basic layout of the Tuguhun royal tomb group in Wuwei Nanshan was preliminarily clarified. ”
Ma Yuping, director of the Provincial Bureau of Cultural Relics, believes that the archaeological project takes the Tomb Group of the Tuguhun Royal Clan of the Tang Dynasty in the Wuwei Region as the main research object, and through systematic archaeological investigation, excavation, cultural relics protection and research work, strives to clarify the distribution range, number of tombs, burial characteristics and burial customs of the tomb group, and further improve the understanding of the cultural connotation of the tomb group. It provides a key foundation for promoting the sustainable development and protection and utilization of cultural relics of the Tuguhun royal family in Wuwei region, and provides a new direction for the study of the history and culture of the ancient Silk Road. Provide cultural guarantees for forging a solid sense of the Chinese national community; provide academic support for the implementation of the "Belt and Road" initiative.
Lanzhou Daily all-media reporter Hua Jing text/photo/video
The cultural relics pictures were provided by the Gansu Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau