Mystery of Ancient Loulan Site

From the prosperity before the 2nd century, to the empty city in Xuanzang's eyes, and now to the Loulan fever, everything about Loulan seems to be an unsolved mystery. Loulan is the first and most important stop of the new journey to the west interview group. After driving in the deserted desert for 4 days, the reporter finally saw the ancient city of Loulan, which was shrouded in fog.

The rise and fall of ancient loulan

When the ancient city of Loulan was built and the kingdom of Loulan was formed is not recorded in the existing historical materials, but prehistoric stone tools have been found in Lop Nur and around Loulan City, such as stone axe, stone hoe, stone shovel, stone knife, Shi Mao, stone shovel, Yufu, jade shovel, jade knife and Yu Pei. This shows that there were human activities in and around Lop Nur depression in prehistoric times, and it is obvious that there are Shicheng sites in Altun Mountain and Kunlun Mountain. Most Neolithic tools were found in Lop Nur and its surrounding areas, about 6000 years ago.

In the Western Han Dynasty, Loulan was one of the 36 city-states in the northwest. Historical Records records Loulan's "battlements and salt marshes on all sides", with a population of14,000 and more than 2,900 holy soldiers. At that time, Gulou Lan was the first stop of the ancient Silk Road west of Yangguan. At that time, it was the "street messenger" on this traffic line, with busy traffic and prosperous urban economy. At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, the imperial court was in turmoil, and the Xiongnu took advantage of it to collude with local rulers, which led to the cut-off of traffic in the western regions. The book "Biography of the Western Regions in the Later Han Dynasty" in Hexi area says: "The city gates are closed during the day." From Wang Mang's usurpation of the throne to the three companies in the Eastern Han Dynasty and the Western Regions, it finally became stable and developed. "The Biography of the Western Regions in the Later Han Dynasty" said: "There is no end to attacking the post station; Hu businessman, the Japanese money is stuffed. " In Cao Wei, the Silk Road went out of Yumenguan to the Western Regions, and Loulan began to prosper again.

Strangely, after five or six hundred years of prosperity, the famous kingdom of Loulan suddenly disappeared from the 4th century, with no historical records and no name. In the 7th century, when Tang Xuanzang returned from his westward tour to Tianzhu, he saw the Loulan Kingdom as "desolate". In Xuanzang's eyes, Loulan became an empty city.

Loulan once again attracted the attention of the world, which was the adventure of a Swede at the beginning of last century. On March 28th 1900, Swede Sven Hedin, led by Eldik, went into the western part of Lop Nur for exploration. When crossing a desert, he found that their shovel was lost in the campsite last night. Eldik went back to find it. He brought back not only shovels, but also some wood carvings. Sven Hedin was very excited when he saw these fragments, so he hired migrant workers to dig them. The ancient city of Loulan was rediscovered, and Sven Hedin called it "Pompeii of the East".

With the arrival of Sven Hedin, the ancient city of Loulan was discovered by more people. Later, a large number of cultural relics unearthed shocked the world, and Loulan studies were formed worldwide.

Manloulan road

/kloc-Today, more than 0/000 years later, the interview group organized by the National Evening News Alliance has set off for Loulan. There are many ways to enter Lop Nur, among which Peng Gexia and Liu Heping (the other was Yu Chunshun who was killed in Lop Nur) are the so-called "three outstanding men in Lop Nur". We crossed Kuruktag Mountain from Turpan to the south and entered Lop Nur area. 65438 10 camped in Karejing on the evening of 8th, crossed Kuruktag on 9th, 10 continued on the road on 30th June. Although there were two heroes leading the way, we went in the wrong direction and walked back and forth for more than 80 kilometers before returning to the right path. Two left steel plates of the reporter's car "Barefoot Daxian" were broken, and it takes about three hours to repair the car. To ensure safety, all of us. When the garage arrived at Longcheng Ya Dan Group, the former No.2 camp, it was about 3 am on June 5438+0/KLOC-0. After consulting with all the members, the motorcade continued on its way to Loulan Ancient City18km. No one expected that it took more than three hours from Longcheng to 18 km. It's windy and windy, so it's almost difficult to set up a tent. Many people simply squeezed into the car. At 8: 30, when the sun rose from the horizon, the wind and sand became worse, and nothing could be seen on the vast wasteland. Speaking of this night trip, Peng Gexia still has a lingering fear. Lao Peng told reporters: "Although I went to Loulan nearly 10 times, I was still sweating with nervousness. There is no typical reference. I walk completely by memory. "

Breakfast was eaten in the roar of wind and sand, and the rice was full of sand. You can't chew it carefully, you can only swallow it. Because of the sandstorm, the interview group temporarily changed its itinerary and first returned to Loulan Protection Station and entered Lop Nur. After bumping on the hard salt shell for more than an hour, we got into the nest of the protection station, from the sandy desert to the warm nest at first. Everyone thinks we're in heaven. That day's lunch was the first time I had a meal without sand in the wild. 12, the weather is fine, and the motorcade continues to travel to 18 km. After passing through the campsite yesterday morning, the reporter discovered that it was a small piece of duck egg in the boundless.

After18km, Ya Dan is getting higher and higher. The so-called road is through Ya Dan. The bunker is getting deeper and deeper, the sand is getting thicker and thicker, and the car begins to sink in. In order to reduce the weight, everyone in the car came down to walk. Five or six steel wires were broken that day. Li Xueliang, a famous photojournalist of Urumqi Evening News, was swept by the broken steel wire and almost hurt his eyes.

About 6 kilometers away from the ancient city of Loulan, three cars were stuck in the bunker one after another, and the stupa of Loulan was in front of us. The reporter and 10 members decided to go on foot.

At about 6: 30, we came to the gate of Loulan, and the tall stupa was in front of us. However, the motorcade is still crawling in the bunker. When night fell and the temperature dropped below zero, the motorcade didn't come. We went out of the bomb shelter and climbed up a tall red willow bag outside the ancient city. Then the head of the team, Yang Daming, was in a hurry and kept in touch with the team with his walkie-talkie. But in the mysterious Ya Dan group, the motorcade still went in the wrong direction, heading for the northwest of the ancient city, and our position was at the south gate of the ancient city. The intercom is dead, only the ignition switch is on. The red willow bag is covered with dried red willows, just to light a signal. The fire broke out, and the distant motorcade finally found the fire, but it was close at hand, and the motorcade still walked for more than two hours. When everyone is assembled, it will be about 10: 30 in the evening.

Curled up in the tent, people can't sleep anyway, listening to the sand brushing the tent, sighing in their hearts, how did the Guloulan people live and multiply here? How did Xuanzang stay here for the night and return to China? The night in Loulan is really cold.

Near the ancient Loulan.

The next morning, the wind and sand stopped, and before the sun came out, everyone got off the tent and the car without cleaning up. Accompanied by the staff of Loulan Protection Station, they drilled through the iron railings and entered the ancient city of Loulan.

Although the afternoon before, with the sunset, I first realized the mystery and beauty of Loulan, but Loulan in the morning was completely different.

The ancient city of Loulan was submerged in the vast Ya Dan group, and the sun came out from the horizon, giving the surrounding Ya Dan an orange ceiling, and the mysterious Loulan Pagoda was no exception. Photographers have seized the favorable terrain and waited for the coolest moment of light.

After thousands of years of wind and sand erosion, the stupa is the tallest building in the ancient city of Loulan and the most beautiful "Ya Dan". It is quietly located in the northeast of the ancient city, overlooking us pilgrims. In its northwest, there are protectors supporting it with boards and thick trunks. About 300 meters to the west, there are three rooms that may have been used as official offices. At that time, Sven Hedin excavated a large number of cultural relics under these walls. There are only four tall adobe walls in front of the three rooms, the middle area is slightly larger, about 15 square meters, and the houses on both sides are smaller, about 10 square meters. On the ground in front of the house, there are many obviously riveted stakes scattered, and the longest square stake is more than 4 meters long. From these three rooms to the west, there are some remains of private houses. The scale of the house is still clearly visible. Poplar boards and red willow branches, which were originally used to build walls, still stand upright in the sand. On the ground, they are reeds or thin red willow branches used to build houses. After 1000 years, it is still intact. All buildings are built on high platforms. In low-lying areas, black or red pottery pieces are scattered everywhere. These pottery are a little rough. So many pieces of pottery seem to tell us the prosperity and glory of the ancient city of Loulan. In the north of the house, there are two mounds about 3 meters high like Ya Dan. The staff of the protection station said that this is the ruins of the ancient city wall.

Avoiding the photographer's lens and the cultural relics under his feet, the reporter strolled in the ancient city of Loulan. In Sven Hedin in 190 1 year and Stan in 1906, wood carvings (Buddha statues) and Buddha statues were successively unearthed here, decorated with lotus flowers and other patterns, and many exquisite white wool products were unearthed. The most important thing is to dig up the wooden slips and paper documents in Chinese and Baluwen (a language circulating in North India in the 4th and 5th centuries BC).

This seemingly desolate place is the best proof of vitality.

Mystery of ancient loulan

Loulan site unearthed a large number of books, bamboo slips and coins from the Han, Jin and Tang dynasties, and also unearthed many mummies of men and women. One of the female bodies was successfully recovered, and the world called it "Loulan Beauty". After testing, this female mummy has been around for more than 3,800 years. She was about 40 years old when she died, and her height was about 1.55 meters. Through the mummy, we can still find the typical beautiful features of the deceased: big eyes and low cheekbones. ...

Experts later determined that she was of European descent. Bi Yading, an accompanying tourism expert, said that this Guloulan woman who is over 40 years old cannot be called a beauty.

Among all the mysteries about the ancient city of Loulan, the most controversial one is the disappearance of the ancient city of Loulan.

There are many reasons for the disappearance of Loulan, such as war, climate change, glaciers and desert storms.

The scientific investigation team of Lop Nur scientific drilling of China Academy of Sciences found that its disappearance was closely related to the change of climate and environment.

It is reported that 3000 years ago, the area of Lop Nur Lake reached 12000 square kilometers, and the ancient Peacock River was rich in water. On the one hand, Loulan built a city by water in order to get close to the water source, and on the other hand, she was afraid of flooding, so they chose the highland where the tributary of Peacock River passed.

After measurement, scientists found that this highland is nearly 30 meters higher than the bottom of the now dry Lop Nur Lake and more than ten meters higher than the current Peacock River Basin.

According to the experts of the scientific research team, with the change of climate, Lop Nur gradually retreated, the height difference between the river and Lop Nur into the lake increased, the river speed increased, and the river cut off, making the highland higher and higher. Experts explained that with the rise of the highlands, it became difficult for people to get water, and the tributaries of the ancient Peacock River that passed through the city gradually dried up. Eventually, the ancient Peacock River was diverted, and the lake in Lop Nur shrank a lot, so people had to walk several kilometers to the nearest water source. Scientists say that in this environment, the social system is quite fragile and cannot withstand any man-made and natural fluctuations, such as disasters, wars and economic recession.

Therefore, experts believe that the disappearance of Loulan ancient city is closely related to climate change, or it can be said that it is one of the main reasons. Others, such as the war, the diversion of the Silk Road and other changes in political, economic and social structure, are only the secondary reasons for the disappearance of the ancient city of Loulan.

Recently, some scholars have analyzed the changes of ancient rivers in Loulan area from the perspective of environmental geology by using space remote sensing technology and interpreting a large number of images. It is believed that the real reason for the decline of Loulan ancient city is that two landslides and collapses occurred in the upper reaches of the ancient Peacock River where the ancient city is located, which blocked the river and formed a dammed lake, thus cutting off the water supply source of Loulan ancient city. The ancient Peacock River was the only river that flowed through Loulan area at that time, and it was also the only fresh water source of Loulan ancient city. Loulan was eventually abandoned or even died because of lack of water.

Others believe that the destruction of the ancient city of Loulan was caused by human disrespect for nature. For example, cutting down Populus euphratica leads to ecological deterioration and makes it uninhabitable. One of the evidences of this view is the wooden burial prevailing here at that time. Near the ancient city of Loulan, the mysterious Sun Tomb was discovered. This kind of tomb has a strange appearance. Around the tomb, layers of logs are buried from thin to thick, and rows of logs are radially buried outside the circle, just like the light of the sun. Because this tomb looks like the sun, it is called the tomb of the sun. Among the seven tombs that have been discovered, the most one actually used more than 10,000 logs.

Some people think that the flood destroyed this ancient city on the main road and so on.

Judging from the current situation, this argument will continue, and the mystery of Loulan may never be solved.