How to rob tombs.
Article submitted by: Lei Feng Warrior posted in the Growth Strategy Iron Blood Forum
In the modern sense of China, it is an organized, state-initiated, Targeted "archaeological excavation" activities are less than a hundred years old. I remember reading several excavation reports from decades ago more than ten years ago. They were not so much "excavations"... but more like "records of tomb robbers" . Because its methods, means, etc... are completely the same as those of tomb robbers, and there is nothing "own" about them. Up to now, some methods may be advanced... some high-tech components have been added, such as ground-penetrating radar, metal detectors, gas analyzers, etc., but the principle is still the same.
A real private tomb robber is subject to various restrictions. It is impossible for him to bring a radar to rob a tomb. Even a Luoyang shovel has to find a way to take it apart and "hide it"... so he has his own unique trick. . If he wants to complete the seemingly "impossible task" within a unit of time, he has to think of various ways, some of which are very subtle.
The Origin of the Luoyang Shovel
In Mapo Village, Mangshan Mountain, Luoyang, there was a man named Li who made a living by robbing tombs since he was a child. In the twelfth year of the Republic of China, one day, he arrived in the tenth year of the Republic of China. I went to a market in a county a few miles away, and there was an acquaintance from Magou Village in Yanshi County who was building a shed to accumulate funds and sell fried buns. The two parties met and said hello. He saw that the man used a tile-shaped shovel with a short handle to dig a small vertical pit in the ground to put in the shed pillars. The man used the shovel to move down. When the load was brought up, many soldiers were brought out, which immediately triggered his inspiration. This guy was less troublesome than a shovel, especially since he could bring the original soil with him. He had to judge the conditions of different underground strata, so he found a piece of paper and drew it against the shovel. I took an original large drawing and found someone to make it according to the drawing after I got home. After a try, it turned out to be very easy and the effect was good, so it was widely promoted.
Ancient Luoyang shovel
For example: Digging a hole of more than ten meters...can make sure there is no soil on the ground! A layman like me wouldn't even dare to think about it. How is it possible? ! ...I didn’t believe it
But later I believed it, because I believed it once I saw it in person. I was asked to look for an opening at the scene...I walked around and couldn't find it! Back
I was shocked when someone said, "It's right where you are standing...right under your feet, and you're standing right on the opening!"
Hurry and get out of the way..., then someone dug a shovel into where I was standing, and a minute later I saw a hole...
It turned out that I was standing A "grate" is installed, and the tomb robbers will seal the hole after finishing their work. Open it now... There is only an opening as big as a sewage manhole cover. After opening it, you can look down and it will go straight down for more than ten meters. You can't see the bottom in the dark and deep winter.
People still Tell me...if you have the courage, you can go down! The bottom is very strong and won't collapse. You can go down and take a look inside the tomb. I
Forget it, a cave as high as four or five stories... makes me dizzy just looking at it. And what’s even weirder is...it’s surrounded by plains
It’s all very flat land, and crops are planted there. There is such a well cover in Qingsha tent, a few hundred meters outside
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There are no mounds of soil for miles. It is impossible to pile the soil outside. Moreover, the entrance of the hole is so small that it has to be sealed when working.
That is really impossible. Can't see it! ...Although I don’t know the specific method...but I must admit this fact! People told me that this hole was opened by tomb robbers more than a year ago. More than a year later... the hole is still very strong and will not collapse.
I really don't know how. Even after looking at it with my eyes...I don't understand.
There is also "looking at the terrain", which is even more mysterious. People who don't know can't see it even when walking next to the tomb, but people who know the trick can see it from a few kilometers away
come out. Some tomb robbers "like" to go out and "walk around" after it snows...especially like the kind of "very fine snow particles". The reason is that it has something to do with "soil" .
Soil can be divided into "ripe soil", "living soil" (also called "flower soil") and "dead soil".
Experienced tomb robbers can tell at a glance whether there are tombs here, and even what era the tombs are from.
The archeology graduate student I know was arranged by the school to do excavations in the Three Gorges during his graduation internship.
(Rescue excavation of prehistoric culture, now The Three Gorges was submerged after the water rose), he told me... It is very clear what kind of
soil has what characteristics. And what’s interesting is that he himself admitted: Our level is incomparable to that of real tomb robbers. There is a huge gap in experience. We mainly focus on theory. What did you dig up... ...Let's analyze it
to see its characteristics and when it was created. That's fine, but if it's really "looking for a tomb"... that would be a joke.
First of all, the tombs of each dynasty have their own characteristics, such as their shape, etc. Once you master these characteristics, you can get twice the result with half the effort.
You can use a bougie to explore first, and "feel" whether there is a tomb according to the feeling on your hand... After confirming, shovel down
, for example: hit with a shovel Go down ten meters, and you have it, and then... look at the depth and the things brought out on the shovel. Depth is also a sign. There are sawdust, cinnabar, pit ash, etc. on the things brought out... ...These are all characteristics; then, use a trowel to "square" the shape of the tomb... Just determine the coordinates. Hit one on the left...if you don't hit it after ten meters, that's "passed".
Go back a little to the right and continue hitting...and so on. If you connect the dots one by one, it will be ten. The shape of the tomb beneath the ground is... Then, based on the characteristics of the shape, depth, pit ash, and wood (or stone or brick) of the tomb, we can infer the age of the tomb, the location of the tomb door, etc. Generally speaking, the placement of objects in the tombs of any dynasty has its own rules. At first glance, the shape is that of a Han tomb, Eastern Han Dynasty or Western Han Dynasty.
Then there is an "image" in my head... where should the coffin be, where are the pottery and metal utensils among the buried items?
Wherever it is, there will be something in the ear chambers on both sides... wait, I will know it in my heart. After I really went down... I went straight there
and dug there (Han tombs are usually collapsed and filled with soil, and they are said to be tomb chambers... In fact, they are all soil.
Go forward, everything is in the soil). The "left shoulder and right foot" I mentioned in the previous post is this characteristic... Generally, valuable funerary objects will be placed on the left shoulder and right foot of the tomb owner's coffin.
In other words, before the tomb is dug, you have the concept of the entire tomb chamber in your mind. When you actually dig it, you will directly
be looking for things. The place where we went...
There are also some tombs, such as the tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the tops of the tombs will be very thick (think about it... seven vertical and seven horizontal, and 14 layers of blue bricks)
It is more than two meters thick and how strong it will be!), then you must avoid the top of the tomb when digging the hole. Otherwise, if you hit the top of the tomb
...you probably won't be able to finish the work in one night. Do you still dare to come the next day? Maybe the police are already waiting for you.
So, once the shovel touches the bricks (the shovel will contain brick dust when it is lifted up), avoid the top of the tomb when digging the hole. On the contrary
The shape of the main tomb has been "squared", and you know the positions of the tomb door, tomb wall and tomb roof, so when you dig the hole
it will be natural for you Find other places to hit...
This "other place" may sometimes be close to the tomb door, sometimes it may be close to the back wall of the tomb, it is possible, absolutely
Yes It is determined according to the shape and characteristics of the tomb itself. After looking at the shape, I thought that the coffin in the tomb might be close to the tomb door.
Then when drilling the hole, it should be closer to the tomb door, otherwise, it should be drilled closer to the tomb wall...
There is no problem with the "tombstone" you mentioned.
If there really is such a thing... it would have been discovered when shoveling up and down the ground. When digging holes, avoid it... just hit the back wall of the tomb directly.
A tomb is like a tank. Although it has armor (tomb wall, anti-theft layer) and a fortress (the tomb roof is very thick), it also has weaknesses.
The weak point is the tomb wall or the bottom of the tomb.
Some tomb robbers saw that the tomb was too strong and it was difficult to work on the top and around it, so they simply added a vertical shaft and a horizontal shaft... directly to the tomb. Directly below... After reaching the bottom of the tomb, continue to dig a shaft vertically downward, and then use tools to dig upward to dig a small hole through the bottom of the tomb. It is very easy... The floor, stones, and The wood etc. went directly
into the vertical shaft... Then you can enter the inside of the tomb through this small hole...
In this way, the four walls and top of the tomb are not damaged, but the tomb itself has been robbed.
Generally speaking, there is no need to put so much effort into it. Take the masonry structure of the Ming Tomb as an example: its back wall is the weakest, basically only having two layers of bricks.
So when digging vertical holes You can drill along the back wall of the tomb, and it doesn't take much trouble to cut through the two-brick-thick tomb wall. As far as I know, for Ming tombs, almost all ancient robber holes opened to the back wall. Observe the cross-section of the tomb robbing route... You can tell at a glance that it goes straight to the back wall of the tomb
The ancient robbers are also very powerful, the hole is very narrow, but The purpose is quite strong...
Before liberation, many of those who robbed Ming tombs only had one person to do it, and they only had one night... Wearing mouse clothes, using both hands and feet
, digging holes, Entering the tomb, taking things and leaving...it's not easy. At that time, one person could not dig a shaft, so he left the tomb for a certain distance, and then dug downward at a certain angle... diagonally downward, until he fully touched the back wall of the tomb, and then drilled through ,
Enter..., the calculation is very precise.
Tomb robbers also have their own "hobbies". Some specialize in robbing Han tombs and pre-Qin tombs. If you let them rob Ming tombs, they don't know what to do.
It's really urgent. Maybe I'll give you a "big lift"... Use explosives to blow off the top of the tomb. This is not what "experts" did.
...There are also people who specialize in robbing tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. If you tell them that there is a Han tomb here, they can't find it. No matter what, they can't find it. These two types of tombs are not the same type. They have different methods and different viewing angles. The difference is very big.
And the two look down on each other... Some people say that copperware is valuable, but the tripod is valuable! I look down upon those who robbed the tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
The latter also has his own reasons...it is too dangerous to shoot you as soon as you are caught robbing Han tombs, and you are stupid...you don't understand the market,
you just think Digging a tripod is valuable. Do you dare to sell it? ! ... I dug up bottles and jars (most of the burial objects in tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties were porcelain, gold and silver, calligraphy and paintings)... Aren't they valuable? Maybe it's worth more, so it's better to take action. Everyone has his own theory.
In addition, it is said that the tombs in the Han Dynasty and before had no smell and could not be smelled. Because the tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties are relatively close and made of masonry, it is true that there will be various smells in the tombs. But relying on smell to identify the age of a tomb...
I have never seen such a person, haha. I have heard people say that when identifying bronzes... they can tell the authenticity by rubbing their fingers and smelling them.
The real Luoyang shovel, the most commonly used archaeological tool in modern times, was invented and created by ancient tomb robbers.
Compared with the state's organized protective excavation, tomb robbers are Extremely smart.
First of all, there is no "illegality" in state excavations, so the work is meticulous, even with a brush. In terms of method, almost all of them are "big uncovering" (except for the Ming and Qing tombs with huge underground palaces), and there are no "technical" problems. Not so with the tomb robbers.
Because tomb robbing has been severely punished by law in all dynasties, especially in modern times, so the concept of "time" and "concealment" are very strong. In fact, it's not that those huge tombs cannot be opened by robbers, it's just that they are limited by time. A person once said to me
: "If you give me a month, including me, only two people are enough, then... I am sure to enter the Mausoleum of the First Emperor in Lishan
." I was shocked after hearing this and thought he was fanciful, but he told me that he had visited Lishan several times to observe it and said that it was "just too big".
Grave robbers before the liberation were usually done by one or two people, not too many, and the time was one night. They had their own
special tools (excavating equipment). There are special one-piece costumes (mouse suits, covered with various "gear"). I have seen
the kind of excavation equipment before liberation, which is simply a reduced version of the modern boring machine for tunneling. It is very exquisite. It uses
part of a sharp plow blade as the "excavator", a "three-piece package"... much like a propeller, with a spiral
row connected to the rear. "earth" device...Have you ever seen the relevant parts of a meat grinder? That's it. In this way, not only can the soil be excavated and discharged, but also the tomb bricks can be penetrated (screw principle... just increase the horizontal force, no need to press hard).
A modern tomb robbing gang generally has three to four members, not less than three, and unlikely to exceed five.
Each of these people has their own division of labor.
I once asked someone for advice on the (attempted) robbery of the Laoshan Han Tomb in Beijing. As a result, the person was dismissive of the gang that robbed the Laoshan Han Tomb.
Gu. He thought... "They are not working at all, but looking for arrest." I think
those people had almost dug into the tomb before being arrested, which was "enough", but they emphasized that "first, there can't
be soil outside. They failed to do this. Secondly, it took too long. From these two points, they are not qualified for this business!
I can’t understand why. Being able to do "there must be no dirt outside"..., the person laughed and didn't answer. Just say, "This is nothing
. Sometimes after going down, you may encounter an anti-theft layer, which is an anti-theft wall filled with sand or made of "glazed glass" around the tomb.
If you are not careful, you will be buried alive..." I asked what to do with the sand? The man still smiled and did not answer, and for a long time... said, "I have the ability to dig holes without exposing the soil on the ground, and I also have the ability to put sand or 'glazed glass'... Absolutely not." It will let
the soil to the ground. After the work is done, you will not see any soil on the ground. There will only be a hole the size of a manhole cover. Just deal with it briefly
And... ...When we were working down there, even if people from the Public Security Bureau walked by on the ground, they couldn't see the entrance of the cave. Like the guys at Laoshan Han Tomb... who dug up the earth. There is no place to put it...putting a grave is not asking for death.
”
Let’s talk about some real tricks, let everyone learn, and let’s develop the profession of tomb robbing:
Methods and techniques of tomb robbing and treasure hunting
my country has a long history of robbing ancient tombs. The earliest recorded tomb stolen in history was that of Shang Tang, the first king of the Shang Dynasty, 3,600 years ago. The first robbing incident occurred in the late Western Zhou Dynasty more than 2,770 years ago. Someone from A jade seal was found in the excavated ancient tomb with a cross on it, but no one could recognize it.
The rules and techniques of tomb robbers
Those who rob tombs can be divided into two types. One type is official thieves, such as Dong Zhuo and Sun Dianying during the Republic of China. They are very popular. They use large numbers of soldiers with open fire and sticks. The other type is civilian thieves who are distributed all over the country and are concentrated in Henan and Shaanxi. In the area around Changsha, Hunan.
Professional thieves usually work in partnership with two people. There are only a few who work in multi-person gangs, and there are even fewer who work alone, because one person cannot take care of it. After releasing the wind and clearing the soil, one person enters the tomb and the other person picks up the items. The two can be close friends when they cooperate, but father and son rarely cooperate. When looking for a partner, you need to be careful to prevent anyone from seeing the money. Intention.
These people have been tomb robbing for a long time. They have a lot of experience, are good at disguise, and are very good at anti-theft agencies. After they determine the target, if the tomb is small, it will not take much effort. Excavate it all night, take out the items and leave. If it is a large or medium-sized tomb, one is to plant corn, sorghum and other things around it in the name of farming, and the other is to cover up the excavation activities for one or two months with a green gauze tent. Build a house next to the tomb to hide from the public, and then dig a tunnel from the house to the tomb, so that nothing can be seen from the outside. The third is to secretly dig a tunnel into the tomb while building a fake tomb. ．
The four-character formula for tomb robbing in Changsha
There is a lot of water in the south, and it is not easy to use a shovel in Luoyang. The ancients summarized the four-character formula for observing, hearing, and asking. .
The first is to look at Feng Shui, that is, tomb robbers often know the art of Feng Shui, and use Feng Shui to judge the size of the cemetery.
The second is to smell the smell, and play with the nose. A small amount of soil can be used to identify which generation of tombs it belongs to. It is amazing to believe. There is a legend: There was a tomb robber who had robbed tombs for three generations and developed his skills. However, he was captured in the 1980s. He should have been sentenced to death, but it was because of his skills. The sentence was changed to life imprisonment, and he will work for the archaeological cause for the rest of his life.
San Wenduo is a person with good eloquence. He travels to various places and talks with the elderly about the past and the present. This is used to obtain information about tombs.
Si Qian means pulse diagnosis. There are three levels of explanation. The first is to judge the age and size of the tomb based on the soil layer. The second is to feel the objects on the deceased in the coffin in the tomb, first from the head, then from the mouth to the anus and finally to the feet. , as a flawless pool, must be a person with a delicate mind. The third is to touch the unearthed items with your hands to judge the value of the items.
Robbing tombs and looking for treasures has been around since ancient times, and it is even more sophisticated today. The method Technology and tools have evolved to become more modern, collectivized and intelligent today. They use military compasses for detection, detectors, detonators, explosives, chainsaws, cars for transportation, and mobile phones for communication. So if you want to learn This technique can be said to be complex and arduous, with a long way to go
Modern tomb robbers have developed tomb robbing tools...
The ordinary Luoyang shovel has been eliminated, and the The shovel is modified based on the Luoyang shovel and is divided into a heavy shovel and a lifting shovel (also called a trowel). Because the wooden pole connected to the back of the Luoyang shovel head is too long...the target is too big, so it is discarded and replaced with rebar
tubes...about half a meter long, which can be nested layer by layer...extended at will . When I usually look at the terrain, I take it apart and carry it on my shoulder
in my bag.
Similarly, the tombs dug are different... and the tomb robbing tools are also different. When exploring Han tombs, a heavy shovel evolved from Luoyang shovel was used. When digging Tang tombs, a flat shovel (similar to Lu Zhishen's crescent shovel) was used to dig into Han tomb chambers (Han tombs are mostly pits, many of which have collapsed ) Use a rolling fork and skimmer when tamping the soil.
Generally speaking, the tombs of the Western Han Dynasty do not have penthouses, while the tombs of the Eastern Han Dynasty usually have two penthouses. This is a sign.
Tang tombs were built with tomb bricks. The bricks were not bonded together to form a dome. Han tombs with tomb bricks are not common (except for large tombs). They are mostly pits or pits with wooden squares. Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties are mostly brick structures, with lime and iron sheets inlaid between the tomb bricks. The roofs of some Ming tombs are more than two meters thick (
Seven spokes and seven coupons tomb roofs)... very Sturdy.
The depth of Ming tombs from the ground is generally no more than six meters, and they can be excavated overnight without special methods. Han tombs are generally about 11 or 2 meters above the ground, while Western Zhou tombs are deeper. If you want to excavate them overnight... you must use special methods.
Especially Han tombs and Western Zhou tombs have a long history, and the signs are difficult to find. There is a process of "finding a place" first. Determine the location, put down bougies, shovel down, look at the pit ashes, confirm the shape and orientation of the tomb (that is, determine the age)... Then you can make preparations,
use special methods The excavation was completed overnight.
Grave robbers are very targeted when robbing tombs. For example... when entering the tomb, they will dig directly to the coffin... and then look for something on the "
left shoulder and right foot", and then go to the ear Collect in the rooms (East warehouse and West warehouse)... As for other positions, it depends on the length of time
If the time is short, discard them. There are also many "experiences" when "looking at the terrain". For example, ancient tomb robbers and pits such as "Qin Burial Ridge and Han Burial Slope" are all "square" pits, while modern times are "round" pits
This is what is called "Ancient Garden Nearby"
Anti-Tomb Robbery: The Origin of the Legend of "Suspicious Tomb"
The most common method of anti-Tomb Robbery is to conceal the tomb site so that the tomb robbers do not know where it is. It is said that the ancient tombs were not sealed or planted, and no prominent signs were set up on the ground. One of the main starting points was to prevent excavation.
The serious phenomenon of tomb robbing during the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period led to various forms of anti-grab robbing, including the so-called "suspicious tombs" and "virtual tombs", which used real and fake tombs to confuse tomb robbers. Among them, the "Doubt Tomb" set up by Cao Cao is the most famous. According to folklore, Cao Cao had as many as 72 "suspicious tombs", and some of the "suspicious tombs" were even set up in the water. There is also a folk legend in Quanzhou that General Shi Lang has 7 "virtual tombs", which are located at the gates of several ancient cities in Quanzhou.
Traditional anti-grave-robbery methods include stone coffins and iron walls to make them strong, storing water and sand to prevent theft and chiseling, and using crossbows and flying arrows, and laying down fire and poisonous smoke to kill and injure tomb robbers.
The ancient tombs were severely robbed, and the resulting losses were immeasurable. Taking the thousands of Han tombs that have been excavated across the country as an example, it is reported that only three tombs have survived so far.
“When we excavated ancient tombs, what we were most worried about was that the tombs had been looted by tomb robbers.” A scholar who has been engaged in archaeological work for a long time said.
“From an archaeological point of view, ancient people regarded death as life, and ancient tombs have become important cultural relics for studying ancient society. The cultural relics in ancient tombs represent the history imprinted by a long civilization. For the best Completely record the historical and cultural information fed back by ancient cultural relics. When archaeologists excavate ancient tombs, they do not excavate them randomly according to their own preferences, but scientifically clean, record, and draw the ancient tombs. , and then analyze, compare, and date, so as to maximize the information fed back by the ancient tombs for future research, so as to supplement or enrich the history. The behavior of tomb robbing and speaking from the heart will cause interference and interference to the archaeological work. Destruction.