Uncovering the truth about Cao Cao's tomb, it turns out that Cao Cao did not build a tomb to stop the tomb robbers, this rumor is pure misunderstanding. In 2006, a villager discovered a large pit in his farmland in Anyang, Henan Province, and archaeologists confirmed that it was Cao Cao's real burial place. The skeleton of a young girl was even found in the tomb, revealing another side of Cao Cao that few people knew. How did archaeologists determine that this ancient tomb was the tomb of Cao Cao?First of all, the scale of the tomb is large, and the stone bricks in it are consistent with the stone brick shape of the tomb of the princes and princes in the Han and Wei dynasties, and it can be determined that this is the tomb of the princes of the Han and Wei dynasties.
Secondly, historical records record that Cao Cao ordered not to seal the tomb with a mound of earth before his death, and archaeologists found that the ancient tomb in Anyang was not sealed, which is consistent with Cao Cao's last words. In addition, there are many stone tablets engraved with "King Wu of Wei" in the underground palace of the tomb, which is the highest title of Cao Cao during his lifetime. Most crucially, professional examination of the male corpse in the tomb of Anyang shows that the male corpse died in his 60s, which coincides with the historical record of Cao Cao's death at the age of 66.
These evidences fully prove that the ancient tomb of Anyang is the tomb of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao was not buried thickly, only some exquisite utensils and burial goods were found in the tomb, as well as a "tiger short spear", which also shows that Cao Cao was a military general during his lifetime. The mysterious female corpse in Cao Cao's tomb has aroused the doubts of archaeologists. According to expert observations, one of the women died in her 50s, while the other was in her 20s. Cao Cao's Empress Bian was supposed to be the older woman, but her age does not match historical records.
At first, archaeologists thought that she might be Cao Cao's concubine, because her bones were well preserved, and judging from the movement of the bones, she should have been a beautiful woman during her lifetime. However, upon further inspection, they found that the girl's skull had a faint greenish tinge, and some green crystals were found on the bones.
This caused further speculation among archaeologists about her identity, and they thought of a similar situation in the Eastern Zhou tombs unearthed in Jiangxi, where the corpse of a young girl also had irregular green crystals, which were found to have evolved from poison. This discovery led them to suspect that the young girl might have been forced to die of martyrdom. In the "Testament" left by Cao Cao on his deathbed, he expressed his hope that his funeral ceremony would be simple, considering that the world was undecided, and he did not want to waste too much money.
Although there are not many gold and silver artifacts in the tomb, it is still huge, covering an area of about 80 acres, that is, the area of 320 basketball courts. This has led to speculation about the identity of the two female corpses, and the historiography has not yet been able to give a definite conclusion. This discovery has led archaeologists to suspect that the young girl may have been forced to die of martyrdom, revealing another side of Cao Cao's "inconsistency between words and deeds". Perhaps they were Cao Cao's other concubines, but this remains an unsolved mystery. Cao Cao, as a high-profile figure in the history of the Three Kingdoms, has always attracted much attention to his wife and concubine arrangements.
The Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms records the names of Cao Cao's 15 wives and concubines, including Lady Liu, Lady Bian, Wang Zhaoyi, Song Ji, etc. The reason why these names can survive in the history books is mainly because they gave birth to a son for Cao Cao. It is worth noting, however, that there are many concubines who did not have children, or who only gave birth to daughters, who are not recorded in the official history. When Cao Cao was planning the future, he mentioned the whereabouts of these women. He said that after his death, these beauties did not need to be buried for him. However, Cao Cao may not have expected that after his death, his son Cao Pi would take over the arrangements for these beauties.
Therefore, who do the two bones in Cao Cao's tomb belong to?Some experts believe that the two bones may have been court maids personally served by Cao Cao. The reason why they appeared in the tomb was to continue to serve Cao Cao after death. Of course, some scholars speculate that these two women may be the second Qiao of Jiangdong. Because Cao Cao tried to capture the Erqiao sisters after the Battle of Chibi and make them his concubines. However, according to historical records, when Cao Cao died, the Erqiao sisters were only about 40 years old. Therefore, the remains of the women in the tomb did not belong to them.
Although the identity of the female remains in Cao Cao's tomb is unclear, their presence suggests that Cao Cao was buried after his death and that the young woman died of poisoning. However, it is still unknown whether she took the poison on her own initiative.