This is the first time that a written slip related to an ancient calendar has been found in a tomb.
Chinese archaeologists have unearthed a set of mysterious rectangular wooden artifacts related to the ancient astronomical calendar. The artifacts were found in a well-preserved 2,000-year-old tomb in the southwest of our country.
Each of these 23 wooden slabs is about an inch wide (25 cm), about 4 inches (10 cm) long, and all have a kanji related to the sexagenary branch on it. The sexagenary branch is a traditional Chinese astronomical calendar that began during the Shang Dynasty and ruled from about 1600 BC to 1045 BC.
According to China News Network, archaeologists believe that one of the wooden rafts may represent the year of the current year, while the other 22 may have been used to designate any specific year in the ancient calendar.
The circular perforations on the edges of each wooden stump indicate that they were once tied together. However, experts believe that it is not clear how this set of calendar tablets works.
This is the first time such an object has been found in an ancient tomb, although before the invention of paper, the practice of writing on wooden boards or bamboo was common in China.
Times
Earlier this year, wood chips and many other artifacts were found in a newly discovered well-preserved and rare well-dated Western Han tomb in the Wulong district of Chongqing Municipality — Guankou Western Han Tomb No. 1.
The tomb contains a written list of all the funerary goods, which also indicates that it was built in 193 BC, suggesting that the tomb was in the Western Han Dynasty, which ruled most of China from 206 BC to 9 AD. This was followed by the Eastern Han Dynasty, which ruled until 220 AD, and these two dynasties are considered to be the "** era" established by many Chinese traditions.
Archaeologists say the tomb is the best-preserved wooden chamber tomb found in southwestern China.
Huang Wei, the project leader, said there were more than 600 artifacts in the mausoleum, including lacquer bowls, boxes, jars and plates. It also has bamboo and musical instrument pipes, spears and cooking tripods made of copper, wooden figurines, as well as pottery and bronze. The archaeological unearthed "dry branch wooden scum" is the first discovery in the country.
The Mystery of the Calendar
Ed Krupp, director of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles and author of "Echoes of the Ancient Sky: Astronomy of Lost Civilizations," was not involved in the excavations at Wulong, but said that while the sexagenary calendar is mainstream — for example, it is used in Chinese astrology — the wooden stumps found in the Wulong tomb are extremely unusual.
He added, "These wooden strips with calendar symbols are significant because it is the first and only known example of such an inscription on such an object." ”
But this set of wooden rafts does not seem to function as a calendar;Instead, they seem to be able to be used to refer to any year in a 60-year calendar cycle.
Huang Wei said that at present, the rescue excavation work is nearing completion. In the next step, the Chongqing Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology will continue to cooperate with a number of scientific research institutions to carry out cultural relics restoration, protection and research.
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