Qinghai Dulan Hot Water Tomb ** is currently the largest tomb in the cemetery.
The reporter learned from the Hot Water Joint Archaeological Team that in 2023, the Hot Water Joint Archaeological Team will conduct refined archaeological excavations at No. M37 (commonly known as the "Sheepfold Tomb") in the North District 1 of the Hot Water Tomb Group, and the excavation confirmed that the shape of the above-ground cemetery of the "Sheepfold Tomb" is similar to the 2018 Xuewei No. 1 Tomb, and the "Sheepfold Tomb" is larger in scale, which is the largest tomb in the cemetery found in the Hot Water Tomb Group so far.
This is part of the excavation area in the northern area of the Dulan Hot Water Tomb Group.
The Hot Water Tombs are located in Shuhui Township, Dulan County, Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province. Archaeological discoveries show that the 2018 Xuewei No. 1 tomb is one of the high-level tombs with the most complete layout, the clearest structure and the most complex shape found in the Hot Water Tomb Group and even on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
Archaeological experts believe that through this new discovery, it can be inferred that the "sheepfold tomb" is one of the high-level cemeteries with the most complete layout and clearest structure found in the hot water tomb group and even on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and it is a major discovery in the archaeology of the ancient Chinese mausoleum system.
The excavation of the "Sheepfold Tomb" is an active excavation project carried out according to the medium- and long-term archaeological work plan of the Hot Water Tombs after the rescue excavation of the Xuewei No. 1 Tomb (new number DRXNIM25) in 2018. "The focus of work in 2023 will be on the excavation of the above-ground cemetery of the 'sheepfold tomb'. Han Jianhua, a researcher at the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that after three months of cleaning and excavation, the shape, scale and characteristics of the above-ground cemetery of the "sheepfold tomb" have been basically clear.
This is a panoramic view of the sacrificial building at No. M37 ("sheepfold tomb") in the north 1st district of the Dulan Hot Water Tomb Group.
According to reports, the cemetery of the "sheepfold tomb" is square in plan, and the side is 50 meters long. Outbuildings were found in the southeast of the cemetery, which may have been of a sacrificial nature. The sacrificial building of the 2018 Xuewei No. 1 Tomb is located in the northeast corner, and the sacrificial building of the "Sheepfold Tomb" is located in the southeast corner; In 2018, two sites were found in the No. 1 tomb of Xuewei, and three sites were found in the "sheepfold tomb", of which the largest site was on the inside of the east wall of the cemetery, with the door facing east and opening on the east wall of the cemetery.
This is the wooden door structure of the sacrificial building at No. M37 ("sheepfold tomb") in the north area of the Dulan Hot Water Tomb Group.
In addition, the archaeological team found a square brick altar at the largest site. Experts say that the brick altar is the first discovery in the hot water tomb complex, and a large number of bricks have been found in the altar. Through clues such as the scale and number of cemeteries and sacrificial buildings, it is speculated that the specifications of this tomb and the identity level of the tomb owner are higher than those of the 2018 Xuewei No. 1 tomb.
This is the brickwork of the altar at No. M37 ("sheepfold tomb") in the north 1st district of the Dulan Hot Water Tomb Group.
Han Jianhua introduced that the highlight of the archaeological work of the Hot Water Tomb Group in 2023 is the use of new technologies such as lidar scanning, high-precision DEM (digital elevation model), and 3D scanning on the basis of multidisciplinary cooperation. "Through lidar, we scanned the north and south banks of the Hot Water Tomb Group without gaps, and discovered some new sites and tombs. Han Jianhua said that this work can provide a more accurate basis for the next step in determining the number of tombs and the scope of protection of the hot water tomb group.
In April 2021, the 2018 Xuewei No. 1 Tomb was selected as one of the "Top Ten New Archaeological Discoveries in China in 2020". In October of the same year, the Qinghai Dulan Hot Water Tomb Group was selected as one of the "Top 100 Archaeological Discoveries in a Hundred Years".
Reporter: Bai Ma Yangcuo, Geng Huihuang.
*: Hot Water Joint Archaeological Team.
*:Xinhua.