Are there any ancient tombs with inspection value in the world? If so, give an example.

Experts question that the "Loulanling" tomb has been discovered and remains to be verified.

■ Cultural relics discovered by expedition members

The expedition found the tomb of Loulan and thought it was the tomb of Loulan. Experts doubt this conclusion.

During the Spring Festival this year, a group of adventurers went deep into the Lop Nur desert and accidentally discovered an ancient tomb group (see the A9 edition of this newspaper in February 12 for details). Because it is close to the ruins of Loulan Kingdom, and the walls in the tomb are painted with exquisite murals, people can't help wondering whether this continuous Ya Dan area is the location of a tomb of Loulan King. Loulan, a kingdom located in the middle of the Silk Road, disappeared mysteriously after more than 700 years of prosperity. During this period, there were no fewer than 20 reigning kings, but people have not found a Loulan tomb so far. If this unexpected discovery can be confirmed, it will be a major discovery in archaeological history. However, a few days ago, the reporter handed over the pictures found this time to experts for identification, but the experts had doubts about it.

Archaeologists discovered the ancient tomb by accident.

On the evening of February 19, Zong Tongchang, a photographer of the expedition team who just returned from Xinjiang, showed reporters a large number of photos of ancient tombs he took this time. Zong is a cultural relic worker in the Palace Museum and the editor-in-chief of Cultural Relics World magazine.

According to him, the purpose of this trip to Lop Nur was originally to prepare for the activities of the Urumqi Mountaineering and Adventure Association and the Xinjiang Branch of the China Scientific Adventure Association to cross the Lop Nur desert on foot in March this year. Zhao Ziyun, a retired geological engineer from Xinjiang Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, 16, including two drivers and some climbers. Zong admitted that 18 expedition team members are mostly archaeological enthusiasts except for taking photos of cultural relics in the Palace Museum.

On February 3, the expedition accidentally met a group of grave robbers near the site of Guloulan in Lop Nur. Team member Jiang Jinyuan is sitting in the first carriage. Through the front glass of the silver-gray jeep coming from the opposite side, he could clearly see that there were two locals in the front seat. Because they didn't catch up with the jeep of the grave robbers, the expedition followed the rut of the grave robbers in reverse, and even found an ancient tomb group called Loulanle near the city on the archaeological map of Stein (historical map).

"A large number of colorful coffin plates painted with exquisite patterns were randomly split by grave robbers and used as heating fuel with mummies in the tomb. Human bones can be seen everywhere, except for a horn grate that fell in the corner, and a piece of painted linen dug out of the mound. The grave is empty. " As the grave robbers just left, Zong used "terrible" to describe the situation at the scene.

This time, the expedition entered three robbed rooms, two of which had front and back rooms. There is a beautiful mural on the wall of one of these two tombs, and there are several colorful coffin boards inside. The other tomb has no murals, only a naked mummy and several unpainted coffins.

After shooting a lot of video materials and photos, the team members piled up the colorful coffin fragments left in the tomb with other things. Zong Tongchang took the fragments of horn comb and linen painting out of the tomb on February 16 and delivered them to the History Museum.

The explorers thought this tomb was Loulan's tomb.

After returning to Urumqi from Lop Nur, the expedition announced their new discovery to Xinjiang press.

Zong introduced that he had participated in the rescue of cultural relics in Ali, Tibet, and had visited the ancient tombs in the desert hinterland of southern Xinjiang many times, so he thought that the specifications of the ancient tombs discovered this time were very high. And this cemetery is the closest to the music area. Although it can't be concluded that this must be Loulan's tomb, it should be no problem for Loulan's noble cemetery.

From the photos brought back by Zong Tongchang, we can see that there are not only buildings they call pagodas in the tomb, but also a large number of murals, colorful coffin paintings and tomb scenes. As can be seen from the picture, a colorful mural was painted on the inner wall of the tomb with white paint as the base material in advance. In one of the pictures, you can see a red and white camel-shaped beast biting. Zong believes that this is the golden camel and silver camel that once existed in Loulan folklore. In the folklore of ancient Lu Lan, gold and silver camels represent supreme rights. Another photo shows a unicorn painted in the front room of the tomb. In addition, the tomb they saw this time has a high terrain and is close to the "stupa". The tomb is divided into two rooms, front and back, with a central column base in the middle.

"Personally, I think that although historians believe that La is the site of the ancient Loulan kingdom, La lacks a complete wall relic. Geographically, the Le area where we found the tomb this time not only has a relatively complete ruins of the city wall, but also is close to Tuyin (the land and water wharf along the Peacock River in Gulou Lan) and has a superior geographical position. Coupled with exquisite murals, colored coffins, painted hemp chips and horns, we believe that this is by no means the tomb of ordinary people-at least not the tomb of nobles, or even the tomb of the ancient king of Lu Lan. "

My colleague Zhao Ziyun prefers this tomb to Loulan's tomb. After retirement, Zhao has always been interested in ancient tombs in Xinjiang. According to Zhao, he once saw hundreds of ancient tombs in the desert, but this is the highest one. In addition, Zhao Hezong also mentioned that Loulan Kingdom has flourished for more than 700 years. Based on one king in 30 years, Loulan has at least 20 kings. But until today, we still haven't found the tomb of Loulan.

Experts judge that this tomb is by no means the tomb of Loulan.

The reporter provided some pictures taken by Zong Tongchang to Lin Meicun, a professor of archaeology in Peking University. Professor Lin told reporters that it is difficult to judge the background of this ancient tomb only by a few existing pictures because he has never been to the scene, but judging from the shape of the tomb, this ancient tomb can't be Loulan's tomb.

"Judging from the murals and tombs photographed, the age of this tomb may be in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. During this period, Loulan had already been renamed Shanshan, and its capital was near Ruoqiang County in the Cherchin River basin. Loulan area in Wei and Jin Dynasties was the location of the military center of the Central Plains controlling the Western Regions-the headquarters of the Western Regions, which is equivalent to the present Xinjiang Military Region Command. Therefore, the statement that this ancient tomb is the tomb of Loulan is untenable in terms of time and geographical location. "

Lin also introduced that mural tombs were discovered for the first time in Loulan area and even the whole Tarim Basin, but it was not the first time that such things as colored coffins were discovered. 1998 a painted coffin was found near the mural tomb of Loulan, and the ancient tomb of Yingpan in the upper reaches of Peacock River was also found. However, the colored coffin found in 1998 comes from a vertical cave tomb, and its shape is almost the same as that found in Loulan mural tomb. They certainly belong to the same era, but the painted coffins unearthed from Loulan's mural tomb are higher than those of the vertical cave tomb, so the patterns are more exquisite. Judging from the tomb structure described by Zong Tongchang, this tomb is very similar to the Han tombs in Turpan, Dunhuang and Hexi during the Wei, Jin and Sixteen Countries. Even if the owner of the tomb is Loulan (he suspects that it is more likely to be a Han official stationed in Loulan), the tomb should be built by Loulan people imitating the Central Plains system. This is another historical testimony of the influence of Han culture in the Central Plains on the Western Regions. He believes that Loulan mural tomb and vertical cave tomb belong to the same era for the following reasons: first, the shape and pattern of the colored coffins of the two tombs are roughly the same, and there are four wooden legs at the bottom of the coffins; Secondly, the cotton robe unearthed from the vertical cave tomb is exactly the same as that worn by the characters in the mural tomb, and the white robe is decorated with a red cloth belt sewn under it.

As for Zong and Zhao, they think that the "stupa" near the mausoleum is artificially piled up, and Lin thinks that it cannot be determined as a stupa. "If this building is really a stupa, then there should be Buddhist-related content in the tomb murals near it, but no murals related to Buddhist content can be seen from the existing pictures. In addition, this' stupa' is only more than 2 meters high, which is far from the stupa of 10 meters found in Loulan site. " Judging from the burial system in Wei and Jin Dynasties, he suspected that it was probably a mound or something like that. He also expressed doubts about the gold and silver camel, because from the mural, it is more like a dog biting a camel.

Professor Lin finally said that it is not a big problem to judge this mural tomb as a tomb of dignitaries through the existing materials and descriptions of clans, but it is by no means a tomb of Loulan. "If it is the tomb of Loulan, its discovery will be of great significance. Because we have never found a royal tomb in the Tarim Basin before. "

Although Professor Lin thinks that it is a bit hasty to judge this expedition as an ancient tomb, he admires Zong Tongchang and other expedition members for their enthusiasm for protecting the tomb and their sense of justice for national cultural relics.

The archaeological department has rushed to the scene.

The reporter contacted the Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on February 19. Idris, director of the Institute, told reporters that the archaeological team led by Zhang Yuzhong, deputy director of the Institute of Archaeology, left yesterday morning and is currently on its way to Lop Nur after learning that Zong Tongchang, Zhao Ziyun and others found a high-standard mausoleum near the site of Guloulan. It is expected that the archaeological team will return to Urumqi within ten days. Because there is no signal in Lop Nur area, the reporter failed to contact the archaeological team.

In the interview, Zong Tongchang repeatedly emphasized the damage of destroying ancient tombs to the loss of ancient culture in China. "Because the site of the ancient Loulan Kingdom is located in the desert areas such as Lop Nur, the climate is harsh and the terrain is vast, it is unrealistic to assign special personnel to guard it. A large number of ancient tombs and cultural relics are exposed under the eyes of grave robbers, and it is very easy for grave robbers to rob here. We suggest that the more feasible way to protect cultural relics now can only be led by the government to clarify the sites in this area and carry out rescue excavation. "

Lin Meicun also told reporters that it is meaningless for grave robbers to sell national cultural relics except economic benefits. The main value of cultural relics lies in the culture and history of the nation at that time reflected from them. When a single cultural relic is broken, people can't relate the whole national history to understand. Therefore, grave robbery is a kind of destruction to the panorama of human historical development and cultural heritage. (Li Jiazong Tongchang)

Source: Beijing Youth Daily February 2, 20031