These hanging coffins were indeed made by humans.

These coffins also bear some traces of the rammed earth used to backfill the graves.

Combining the two together and thinking about it carefully, Wu Liang has vaguely drawn a puzzling inference: Could it be that someone dug out the coffin that had been buried and then moved it here to create a hanging coffin burial?

?

Wu Liang is not very confident about this inference.

Because he really couldn't understand this approach.

It should be noted that burial is the mainstream funeral custom of the Chinese dynasty from ancient times to the present. Unless there are extremely special factors, it is rare to move the grave. And even if the grave is really moved, those who have been buried before will not be able to do so.

It may be difficult to accept hanging coffin burial, a less mainstream form of burial.

It seems that even in later generations where cremation is promoted, a considerable number of elderly people still insist on burial, and it is reasonable to refuse to accept cremation no matter what.

People's thoughts and customs are often the most difficult to change.

In addition, Wu Liang also came to a relatively reliable conclusion:

If there is indeed a corpse buried in this coffin, then the social status of the owner of the coffin may not be too high.

Because if it is a deceased person with a relatively high status who is qualified to build a mausoleum, the coffin will usually not be in direct contact with the rammed earth. At least Wu Liang has excavated so many large tombs before, and has never seen anyone's coffin buried directly in the soil.

All human coffins are placed in extremely spacious tombs.

Moreover, even if they are buried directly in the soil, according to the custom passed down from ancient China, the coffins of people with higher social status will have several layers of coffins outside, and they will still not be in direct contact with the rammed earth layer.

Therefore, there will still be no traces of rammed earth left in the gaps between the wood of the coffin.

With this thought.

Wu Liang continued to explore the coffin beneath him.

So far, he has been unable to find anything more valuable from the external structure alone. He can only open the coffin to determine the identity of the deceased in the coffin, and infer the age of the deceased through the burial objects inside.

The conclusion drawn in this way is much more accurate than inferring just from a tiny bit of dirt in the cracks of the coffin.

This coffin has weathered the weather.

Not only was the outer wood of the coffin rotten, but even the copper nails used to seal the coffin were severely oxidized.

At this moment, the exposed nail cap of the copper nail has formed a layer of uneven oxide layer, and as part of the oxide layer naturally falls off, the original size of the nail cap and the strength of the copper nail have also changed to a certain extent.

Change.

That's why.

Wu Liang just moved to the side of the coffin while suspended by the "silkworm silk", stepped on the log inserted into the cliff wall to support the coffin, and then inserted the engineer shovel into the gap between the coffin lid and the coffin and pried it hard.

There was a certain degree of damage where the wood connected with the copper nails, and he easily knocked open a gap in the coffin lid.

A rotten smell immediately filled the gap.

Although the smell is unpleasant, because the coffin itself is no longer sealed over time, it is not too strong.

Slowly push the coffin lid halfway up, allowing sunlight to shine into the coffin.

Wu Liang finally saw clearly what was going on inside the coffin.

There is indeed a human body here.

However, due to the preservation environment and age, the bones have completely turned into dry and brittle bones. Even this withered bones are no longer complete, except for some relatively thick or dense main skeletons.

When it came down, quite a few of the smaller bones no longer existed.

in addition.

The bones inside are still very messy and not arranged according to the shape of the human body.

If he hadn't seen the relatively complete skull, Wu Liang would not have dared to conclude that the withered bones inside were the corpse of a person.

This shows that the coffin in front of you has indeed undergone relatively rough handling, and it was moved after the body tissue of the deceased had been severely decayed, or had completely decayed and disappeared. Otherwise, it is absolutely impossible for these bones to be in such a messy state.

.

besides.

Wu Liang also saw some broken pieces of linen and bamboo mats inside the coffin, several broken curved pottery pieces with only fragments left, and dozens of small oval-shaped copper pieces that were also severely oxidized.

These things were also scattered in a corner of the coffin in a very messy manner, mixed with the messy dead bones.

This situation also fully confirmed Wu Liang's guess. If it had not been handled roughly, these things would definitely not have slipped to a corner of the coffin. At the very least, they should have been placed in a certain order. This is in line with the ancient funeral customs of the Celestial Dynasty. Otherwise,

He didn't take the deceased seriously either.

Those broken pieces of linen are most likely the burial clothes of the deceased.

The bamboo mat fragments may be the lining that was placed under the deceased during burial.

The pottery fragments may be pottery used for burials. These arc-shaped fragments have the remains of broken pottery vessels, pottery bowls or pots on one side.

As for the dozens of small oval copper pieces...

Wu Liang used the wooden handle of the engineer's shovel to support the coffin lid, leaned in, took one out and examined it carefully.

There is a small hole at one end of the oval-shaped copper piece, and there is no pattern on one side. It seems to be just an ordinary copper piece.

But when he turned it over, Wu Liang saw a "ghost face" on the other side that was somewhat similar to the alien image of later generations?

That is indeed a "ghost face".

There are two big eyes on the top and a wide square mouth on the bottom. When paired with the small oval copper piece, it really looks like a face.

If Wu Liang had never studied archeology, he might have been frightened by this "ghost face", which would have caused him to think wildly.

But people who have studied archeology should have some understanding of it more or less.

This thing is not a ghost face, but a kind of coin actually issued in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. It has been discovered by later generations, and there are pictures of it in many archeology books.

It's called "Ant Nose Money."

It is a small currency issued by the Chu State during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

And the "ghost face" engraved on one side of this coin is not a ghost face, but just the word "curse", so that it looks somewhat similar to a face at first glance.

However, because there were many types of "ant-nosed money" issued by the Chu State at that time, there were nearly ten kinds of facial inscriptions engraved on the coins. In order to easily distinguish these coins, later archaeological circles vividly called them "ghost-faced money".

.

This discovery undoubtedly fully confirms the era in which the owner of the coffin lived.

It was the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

In other words, what Sun Ye told us before was not a random fabrication. These hanging coffins should have appeared here during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, which is basically consistent with the time of Lu Ban's death.

at the same time.

This also confirms Wu Liang's other speculation that the social status of the owner of the coffin is indeed not too high. At most, it can only be said that the family has a few small amounts of money.

Because Chu State also issued a high-level currency during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

This high-level currency is called "ying (three tones of ying) yuan (two tones of yuan)".

"Ying Yuan" is the earliest gold currency in ancient China. Although this currency is not exclusive to the royal family, it is usually only used by the royal family. After all, the purchasing power of gold and bronze is not at the same level. Ordinary people just buy some food and

For cloth, the transaction volume will not be too large. A small amount of money like "Ant Nose Money" can already meet daily needs. There is really no need to use "Ying Yuan".

But burial was a big deal in ancient times.

If the owner of the coffin has a high social status and has relatively strong family assets, he will usually not be buried with the "ant nose money" unless the descendants of the family have no filial piety at all.

Because in ancient times, "ant nose" was also synonymous with being small.

"To donate a priceless hook for the lack of an ant's nose" means to give up a priceless sword because of a slight flaw. It can be seen that "ant nose money" is indeed a small amount of money. It does not compare with purchasing power and is only understood in a literal sense.

, the monetary status should be equal to that of steel coins in the monetary system of later generations.

If the coffin owner's family background is average.

Even if we did not consider the burial customs at that time, we should not be able to bury the owner of the coffin with a hanging coffin.

Hanging coffin burial was quite difficult during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and the manpower and material resources consumed were definitely not something that an average family could afford...

Based on this analysis, the coffin owner may not have been moved here by his family. In addition, the relocation process was very violent and there was no trace of respect for the coffin owner. This possibility is undoubtedly much higher.

Since the family members who are not the owner of the coffin build the hanging coffin.

Various signs indicate that these hanging coffins are not the "immortal miracles" of the ancestor.

Then who would do such a thankless thing?

Wu Liangliang became more and more confused.

It's a pity that apart from these things, there are no more valuable things in the coffin, or things that can prove the true identity of the coffin owner, such as seals and the like.

Wu Liang had no choice but to close the coffin lid again, thinking deeply...

at this time.

"Sir, you haven't made any movement for a long time, but have you noticed anything?"

Yu Ji's voice came from the cliff.
To be continued...