A Bronze Pot with 3,000 ml Unknown Liquid Unearthed in Henan

A Bronze Pot with 3,000 ml Unknown Liquid Unearthed in Henan

河南出土秦末汉初鹅首曲颈青铜壶 内有逾3000毫升不明液体

News from Sanmenxia Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology on May 24 -- Recently, archaeologists from Sanmenxia discovered a bronze pot with a curved neck in the shape of a swan, containing more than 3,000 ml of unknown yellowish-brown liquid with impurities, at a local archaeological site.

5月24日，记者从三门峡市文物考古研究所了解到，近日三门峡考古工作者在当地一个发掘现场，发现一个鹅首曲颈青铜壶，造型姿态优美，壶中还存有不明液体逾3000毫升，呈黄褐色，且有较多杂质沉淀。

The bronze pot with a curved neck in the shape of a swan discovered from an ancient tomb in Sanmenxia. [Photo provided to Henan Daily]

According to Zheng Lichao, head of Sanmenxia Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, preliminary judgement based on the form of the tomb shows that the tomb was built during the late Qin Dynasty and the early Han Dynasty. “Judging from the bronze pot, it can be speculated that at the turn of the Qin Dynasty and the Han Dynasty, the swans may have appeared in Sanmenxia and lived harmoniously with the local people who even took ‘swan’ as their aesthetic pursuit.”

三门峡市文物考古研究所所长郑立超介绍，根据墓葬的形制初步判断，墓葬时代为秦末汉初。“从目前出土的鹅首曲颈青铜壶来看，我们可以大胆估测，在秦末汉初时期，三门峡地区已经有天鹅出现，而且人与天鹅和谐共处，并以天鹅形象作为艺术审美追求。”他说。

The discovery has aroused a wide concern: Who is the owner? What is the function of the liquid in the pot? It still needs further tests.

鹅首曲颈青铜壶一出土，就引起广大网友的强烈关注：墓主人是谁？鹅首曲颈青铜壶装的液体是什么？这些目前都不能确定，有待进一步检测分析和研究。

The bronze pot with a curved neck in the shape of a swan discovered from an ancient tomb in Sanmenxia. [Photo provided to Henan Daily]

Zheng said, this bronze pot was unearthed from an ancient tomb when the archaeologists were examining the site of a local shantytown renovation project. Apart from this swan-shaped bronze pot, many cultural relics were also discovered here, such as bronze ware, bonze basin, iron sword, sword decorated with jade articles, bronze mirror, bronze seal, etc.

郑立超说，鹅首曲颈青铜壶是他们在配合三门峡某一棚户区改造工程时，在一座古墓中发掘出土的。除了鹅首曲颈青铜壶，墓内还出土了铜鍪、铜盆、铁剑、玉剑具、铜镜、铜印等。

It is reported that, 3 archaeological discoveries have been conducted at this over 100-mu construction site since October 2017, with over 600 tombs of different times  (half were built during the late Qin and early Han dynasties) having been unearthed. “This is closely related to the history of Sanmenxia. At that time, the local people were living in the ancient city of Shanzhou whose northeast part was burial area with 3 layers: the deepest tombs (11 to 12 meters underground) were built at the turn of the Qin Dynasty and the Han Dynasty, followed by the tombs of the Tang and Song dynasties (5 to 6 meters underground) and of the Ming and Qing dynasties (about 3 meters underground),” said Zheng.

据了解，该施工区域有100多亩，自2017年10月开始考古勘探发掘，3年来已经陆续发掘3次，发现了600多座墓葬，而且呈现出不同时期的叠压状，其中秦末汉初的墓葬占了近一半。“这与三门峡的历史有关，当时老百姓生活在陕州古城，古城东北的高岗是墓葬区，大概分3层，其中秦末汉初的墓葬最深距地表11米到12米，唐宋时期墓葬距地表5米到6米，明清时期墓葬距地表3米左右。”郑立超说。（记者王小萍 王雪红 翻译 赵汉青 审校 白玉杰）