Tomb robbery can be divided into official thieves and private thieves, and private thieves account for the vast majority. This article only discusses private grave robbery. From the perspective of engineering, I analyze what engineering knowledge the grave robbers used intentionally or unintentionally in the process of robbing the grave. After sorting out, it is found that grave robbery is closely related to geological exploration, geotechnical engineering, engineering mechanics, construction engineering and other disciplines. This time, let's analyze geological prospecting and see if grave robbers are geological prospecting experts!
Ancient tombs are generally buried underground (including cliffs). Whether building a cemetery or robbing a tomb, land needs to be disposed of. Geological exploration has become an important knowledge that grave robbers must master. Many plots describing landforms and ancient tombs in Ghost Blowing Lights are very attractive, which has a lot to do with the fact that the author's parents are both national geological exploration teams (don't get me wrong, they didn't rob the tomb). Some tomb raiders even nicknamed the tomb raiding team "folk geological team", and geological prospectors who have worked in the field all the year round have been mistaken for tomb raiders.
Geological exploration is to explore and detect geology through various means and methods, and to investigate and study strata, structures and landforms in a certain area. Geological exploration is widely used in archaeology and mineral exploration. If you want to find an ancient tomb, grave robbers must look at the topography (referred to as geomantic omen), which is closely related to the topography and hydrology of the collection site in geological exploration (mountains and rivers are considered to be good geomantic omen); In order to find out the situation and internal structure of the ancient tomb, it is necessary to explore the cemetery. In geological exploration, drilling sampling is often used to analyze the stratum structure, and the method of tomb exploration is similar to drilling.
First, let's look at a scene in "Looking for the Dragon": American grave robbers use various high-tech means such as GPS, detectors and drone aerial photography to find the exact location of the ancient tomb; And Hu Bayi magically picked up the touch of the golden symbol and made another array, and then accurately positioned it. Simply put, it is still the "fixed point of dividing gold" of our ancestors.
There is a popular saying in the grave robbery world: ten tombs are empty, so it is very difficult to find an ancient tomb. The ancients believed in geomantic omen and often built cemeteries in geomantic treasures, which gave grave robbers room to play. Although there are not many signs on the cemetery, the exact location of the ancient tomb can be determined by judging the geomantic omen according to the topography. It is difficult for ordinary people to notice this, and standing in an ancient tomb may not be able to find it; But grave robbers can often judge whether there is an ancient tomb from the terrain several kilometers away or even farther away. What's more, they can know the size and location of the ancient tomb according to the terrain of mountains and rivers.
So, is it really useful to "divide money and set points" mentioned in these feng shui or grave robbery novels? In fact, these technologies are not magical secrets. We can judge the location of the ancient tomb by observing the landform and the trend of mountains and rivers from a long distance, but this requires good understanding and field experience. "Qin buries mountains and Han buries slopes, and mountains bend with water" is an experience circulating in grave robbing circles, and grave robbing experts have also summed up the formula of "looking, smelling, asking and cutting", and "looking" belongs to topographic exploration.
Geological exploration includes geological structure exploration, that is, exploration of landform, hydrology and soil layer, which provides necessary basis and conditions for the planning and construction of engineering construction. This is related to feng shui and is often mentioned by grave robbers. Feng shui also includes meteorology and environmental landscape. The cultural level of ancient grave robbers was generally not high, and there were not many available means. Divide gold and fix points can really play a certain role in grave robbery, which is also a summary of the actual combat experience of grave robbers.
Modern grave robbers make full use of high-tech means to find ancient tombs, observe mountains and rivers with satellite maps, and scan topography with aerial photography of drones.
When an ancient tomb is discovered, it is necessary to conduct on-site investigation to determine the size and internal structure of the ancient tomb, which is also commonly known as tomb robbery. Luoyang shovel is widely used in tomb exploration. Luoyang shovel, Longmen Grottoes and Baima Temple are also called "the three treasures of Luoyang", and Luoyang shovel is also widely used in archaeology and geological exploration. Luoyang shovel can drive underground 10 meters or even tens of meters, and then lift the soil from different soil layers, and judge whether there are ancient tombs underground according to the composition, color and structure of the soil layers. If there is cooked soil, it means that there are probably ancient tombs underground, and grave robbers can often judge the age and scale of ancient tombs by their sense of smell. Luoyang shovels are in several different positions. According to the collision sound and feel, we can judge the situation of underground tombs, so as to know the general orientation, internal structure and whether there are organs (quicksand stones, boulders, rammed soil layers, etc.) ).
Luoyang shovel only appeared after the Ming Dynasty (according to rumors), so what did grave robbers rely on to visit the tomb before the Ming Dynasty? The answer is an iron cone, which can be long or short, and it is a necessary tool for grave robbery. The actual function of iron cone is greater than Luoyang shovel, and it can still be used under complex geographical conditions, and the principle is not much different from Luoyang shovel. Of course, there are even more magical grave robbers who rely on thunder to explore the grave.
The principle of Luoyang shovel is similar to drilling commonly used in geological exploration. Drilling is to drill a hole in the formation with a drilling rig and take samples along the hole to analyze the situation of each formation. This is similar to the analysis principle of Luoyang shovel through the soil in the exploration tunnel, but the depth of drilling is generally deeper than Luoyang shovel, and the analysis method is more scientific (after all, grave robbers often rely on "smell" to distinguish).
Ancient tombs in each era have different characteristics, and grave robbers are divided into different schools. Han tombs, Tang and Song tombs and Ming and Qing tombs have different schools, and even "scholars despise each other". Different sects have different methods of tomb excavation. For example, the back wall of the Han tomb is relatively thin, and there are usually ear rooms, so it is very important to shovel in these places when exploring the tomb. Graves in the Ming and Qing Dynasties generally used thick masonry walls. When excavating a tomb, it is necessary to determine the relatively weak part of the tomb wall and find out the location of the main tomb to avoid excessive engineering workload.
Exploring tombs can often reflect the level of grave robbers. After exploring the tomb, the grave robbers have formed a complete image in their minds. The overall structure of the tomb, the layout of the stolen holes and the cracking methods of the organs are all well prepared. Sun Dianying, the thief of the Republic of China, spent several days without finding the passage to Dongling (the tomb of Cixi), and finally entered Dongling with the help of cannons and grenades. Yao Yuzhong, who is known as "the first master of grave robbery in the Shanhaiguan Pass", once said that only two people can enter the Qin tomb in a month. It can be seen that grave robbery is indeed a very doorways business.
Modern means of grave robbery are more abundant. Many grave robbers no longer use Luoyang shovel, but use high-tech means such as GPS, mine detection and metal detector to explore graves. American scientists use robots to enter the pyramids. Perhaps modern professional grave robbers have used this high-tech means to explore ancient tombs.
According to China's standard answer, it should be like this: First, the purpose is different; Second, the means and methods are not exactly the same; Third, different values. Perfect three steps, typical official standard. Of course I can't talk nonsense like this with everyone. Say something else.
Modern grave robbers have widely used a variety of advanced technical means in geological exploration, such as satellite sensing maps, aerial photography by unmanned aerial vehicles, radar detection, metal detection and so on. Even with a small robot, it is simply a well-equipped professional grave robbery gang. However, the methods used to rob tombs are very simple and rude, and often only involve a small part of geological exploration.
Geological exploration needs to analyze the rocks, strata, structures, minerals, hydrology and landforms in the region, and the analysis content is very detailed, using gravity exploration, magnetic exploration, seismic exploration and radioactive exploration, with a wide range of contents. Even if the grave robbers deliberately used the knowledge of geological exploration, it was only a scratch.
Before field exploration, detailed data analysis and exploration planning have been carried out in geological exploration, and exploration work can be carried out in an orderly manner. With the help of modern advanced scientific and technological means and analysis methods, it is very accurate in earthquake prediction, mineral exploration and natural disaster prediction. In the analysis of geological factors of engineering buildings, the interaction between engineering buildings and geological environment can be predicted to ensure the stability of buildings accurately.
Whether it's the plot of a tomb-robbing novel or a news report, it feels that grave robbers are always in a state of tension. In addition to the risk of being caught (the government cracked down on tomb robbery in ancient and modern times), the methods of tomb robbery are too rough and the analysis method is unscientific, and it often takes a long time to find the ancient tomb (it is not necessarily guaranteed that there are "goods" in it). Moreover, the cultural level of grave robbers is not high (professional grave robbers may have a high cultural level), and many people rely on experience and actual combat to explore. There are many cases of tragic death in the tomb after exploring the ancient tomb.
Let's stop here, not too much! Next time, talk about the relationship between grave robbery and geotechnical engineering.