Why does Luoyang shovel, which looks ordinary, become a "tomb-robbing artifact" for grave robbers?

Luoyang shovel can take out soil samples with little damage. In addition, when using Luoyang shovel, there is no requirement for the environment. Even in some extreme cases, the detection effect is better than some electronic devices. As early as the Ming Dynasty, there were grave-robbing tools similar to Luoyang shovel. It can be said that it is a very powerful tool to help grave robbers accurately predict the exact location of the ruins and detect the specific depth of the ruins.

Luoyang shovel, also known as exploratory shovel, is about 30 cm long and 6 cm in diameter. It is semi-cylindrical with a socket at the end for inserting a 2-meter-long wooden pole. On the other side of the wooden pole is an iron ring on which the rope can be tied to deepen the detection depth of the tool. When in use, a man holds a wooden pole and inserts the Luoyang shovel into the soil. When you lift it, you will carry the soil on the shovel head and check whether there is a grave here.

After estimating the approximate location, online search can further accurately locate the grave. Knowing the location of the tomb, the excavation will be carried out. It is much more convenient and accurate to locate large and medium-sized ancient tombs with Luoyang shovel than to search them roughly according to common sense. Therefore, learning to use Luoyang shovel is a compulsory course for all grave robbers.

Luoyang shovel is not only a tool for grave robbery, but also an archaeological tool. 1928, Juxian Wei, a famous archaeologist, saw the grave robbers using Luoyang shovel and applied it to archaeological drilling, which played an important role in excavating famous ancient city sites such as Yinxu in Anyang and Yanshi Mall in Luoyang. Luoyang is a key construction city. Factory site selection often encounters ancient tombs, and it is time-consuming and laborious to drill holes and sample with machines. So, the builders used this Luoyang shovel to accurately detect more than 1000 ancient tombs. From then on, Luoyang shovel spread to the whole country, and soon spread to Eastern Europe and Asian and African countries. Luoyang shovel is famous at home and abroad.