Grave robbing is a mysterious business with a history of thousands of years. Grave robbing has been around since the rise of thick burials. Even in modern times, this behavior can still be seen in the news. As ordinary people, there is basically no chance to be exposed to this activity, so tomb robbing is cast a layer of mystery. The tomb robbing novels "Ghost Blowing the Lamp", "Tomb Robbing Notes" and the tomb robbing film and television dramas "Looking for the Dragon" and "Old Nine Gates" are therefore Being hot rodded by people makes people addicted to curiosity.
Tomb robbing can be divided into official and civilian tomb robbing. Civil tomb robbing accounts for the vast majority. This article only discusses private tomb robbing. From an engineering perspective, I analyze what engineering knowledge the tomb robbers used intentionally or unintentionally during the tomb robbing process? After sorting out, it was found that tomb robbing is closely related to geological exploration, geotechnical engineering, engineering mechanics, construction engineering, etc. This time, we analyze geological exploration to see if the tomb robbers are masters of geological exploration!
Ancient tombs are generally buried underground (some on cliffs as well). Whether you are building a cemetery or robbing tombs, you have to deal with the land. Geological exploration has become an important knowledge that masters of tomb robbing must master. The many plots describing the landforms and ancient tombs in "Ghost Blowing the Lamp" are very attractive, which has a lot to do with the fact that the author's parents are both members of the national geological survey team (don't get me wrong, neither of them has ever robbed a tomb). Some grave robbing circles even nickname the tomb robbing team as the "civilian geological team". Geological prospectors who work in the field all year round have been mistaken for tomb robbers.
Geological exploration is the exploration and detection of geology through various means and methods, and the investigation and research of strata, structures, landforms, etc. in a certain area. Geological exploration is widely used in archeology and mineral exploration. When looking for ancient tombs, tomb robbers must look at the topography and topography (referred to as Feng Shui), which is closely related to the topography and hydrology of the area collected during geological exploration (surrounding mountains and rivers is considered to be better Feng Shui); To find out the condition and internal structure of the ancient tomb, the cemetery must be explored. Geological exploration often uses drilling sampling to analyze the stratigraphic structure. The method of exploring the tomb is similar to drilling.
Let’s first look at a scene in "The Secret of the Dragon": American tomb robbers used various high-tech means such as GPS, detectors, and drone aerial photography to find the exact location of the ancient tomb; while Hu Bayi miraculously picked up the gold-touching talisman and made a formation. He positioned it accurately and said calmly: Our ancestors' "dividing gold and fixing acupoints" still works.
There is a popular saying in the tomb robbing circle: Nine out of ten tombs are empty. It is very difficult to find an ancient tomb. The ancients believed in Feng Shui and often built cemeteries in Feng Shui treasured areas, which gave master tomb robbers room to display their talents. Although there are not many signs on the cemetery, the exact location of the ancient tomb can be determined by judging Feng Shui based on the topography and topography. It is difficult for ordinary people to detect this, and they may not be able to detect it even when standing on an ancient tomb; but master tomb robbers can often judge whether there is an ancient tomb from a few kilometers away or even further away, and even more powerful ones can judge the existence of an ancient tomb based on the terrain. Understand the size of the ancient tomb and the location of the tomb based on the topography of the mountains and rivers.
So, is the "dividing gold into fixed points" mentioned in Feng Shui or tomb robbing novels really useful? In fact, these techniques are not magical secrets. You can judge the location of ancient tombs by observing the terrain and topography from a distance, and observing the trends of mountains and rivers. However, this requires better understanding and field experience. "Follow the winding water and embrace the bends" is a popular experience in the tomb robbing circle. Tomb robbing masters have also summarized the four-character formula of "looking, hearing, asking, and cutting". "Looking" belongs to terrain exploration.
Geological exploration includes geological structure exploration, which is the exploration of landforms, hydrology, soil layers, etc., to provide the necessary basis and conditions for the planning and construction of engineering construction. This has something to do with Feng Shui, which is often talked about by tomb robbers. Feng Shui also includes meteorology, environmental landscape, etc. The cultural level of ancient tomb robbers was generally not high, and there were not many methods at their disposal. Sharing money to fix the grave can indeed play a certain role in tomb robbing. This is also a summary of the practical experience of tomb robbing masters.
In modern times, tomb robbers make full use of high-tech means to find ancient tombs. They use satellite maps to observe mountains and rivers and use drone aerial photography to scan terrain and topography. These are all very widely used technical techniques.
After finding an ancient tomb, it is necessary to conduct on-site exploration to determine the tomb, the size of the ancient tomb, and its internal structure. This is commonly known as tomb exploration. The Luoyang shovel is widely used in tomb exploration. Luoyang shovel, Longmen Grottoes and Baima Temple are also known as the "Three Treasures of Luoyang". Luoyang shovel is also widely used in archaeology and geological exploration. The Luoyang shovel can be driven into the ground 10 meters or even dozens of meters, and then the soil of different soil layers is lifted up. Based on the composition, color and structure of the soil layer, it can be judged whether there are ancient tombs underground. If there is mature soil, it means that there is likely to be an ancient tomb underground. Tomb robbers can often judge the age and size of ancient tombs by smelling them. The Luoyang shovel is shoveled in several different positions. Based on the collision sound and the feeling on the hand, the condition of the underground ancient tomb can be judged, thereby knowing the general orientation of the ancient tomb, its internal structure, and whether there are mechanisms (quicksand, boulders, rammed earth layers, etc.) ).
The Luoyang shovel only appeared after the Ming Dynasty (according to rumors), so what did the masters of tomb robbers before the Ming Dynasty rely on to explore tombs? The answer is an iron awl. This tool can be long or short and is an essential tool for exploring tombs. The actual effect of the iron cone is greater than that of the Luoyang shovel, and it can still be used in complex geographical conditions. The principle is not much different from that of the Luoyang shovel. Of course, there are even more magical tomb robbers who rely on thunder to explore tombs.
The principle of the Luoyang shovel is similar to the drilling commonly used in geological exploration. Drilling uses a drill to drill holes in the formation and take samples along the hole to analyze the conditions of each formation. This is similar to the Luoyang shovel's principle of analyzing soil through cave exploration, but the current drilling depth is generally deeper than the Luoyang shovel, and the analysis method is more scientific (after all, tomb robbers often rely on "smell" to distinguish).
The ancient tombs of each era have different characteristics, and the masters of tomb robbers are also divided into different sects. There are different sects in Han tombs, Tang and Song tombs, and Ming and Qing tombs, and there are even situations where "literati look down on each other". There are some differences in the tomb-exploring methods of different sects. For example, the back wall of Han tombs is thin and generally has ear chambers. When exploring tombs, you should focus on shoveling in these places. Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties generally use thick masonry walls. When exploring tombs, it is necessary to determine the relatively weak links in the tomb walls and to find out the location of the main tomb to avoid excessive construction work.
Exploring the tomb often reflects the level of the tomb robber. After exploring the tomb, the master tomb robber has formed a complete image in his mind, including the overall structure of the ancient tomb, the layout of the robbery holes, and the methods of cracking the mechanisms. Be confident. Sun Dianying, a robber from the Republic of China, spent several days unable to find the entrance to the Dongling Tomb (Cixi's Mausoleum), and finally entered the Dongling Tomb with the help of cannons and grenades. Yao Yuzhong, known as "the best tomb robber in the pass", once said that it only took two people a month to enter the Qin Mausoleum. This shows that tomb robbing is indeed a very skilled business.
Modern tomb robbing methods are more abundant. Many tomb robbers no longer use Luoyang shovels, but instead use various high-tech methods such as GPS, mine detection, and metal detectors to explore tombs. American scientists once used robots to enter the pyramids. Perhaps modern professional tomb robbers have used this high-tech method to explore tombs.
If you follow the Chinese standard answer, it should be like this: first, the purpose is different; second, the means and methods are not exactly the same; third, the value orientation is different. Perfect three-stage style, typical official standard. Of course I can't talk nonsense with you like this, let's talk about something else.
Modern tomb robbers have widely used a variety of advanced technical methods in geological exploration, such as satellite sensor maps, drone aerial photography, radar detection, metal detection, etc., and even small robots have been used. A well-equipped group of professional tomb robbers. However, the techniques used in tomb robbing are very simple and crude, and often only involve a small part of geological exploration.
Geological exploration needs to analyze the rocks, strata, structures, minerals, hydrology, landforms, etc. in the area. The analysis content is very detailed, using gravity exploration, magnetic exploration, seismic exploration, radioactive exploration, etc., and the content is extensive. . Even if the tomb robbers deliberately used geological prospecting knowledge, they would only scratch the surface.
Geological exploration has carried out detailed data analysis and exploration planning before field exploration, and can carry out exploration work in an orderly manner. With the help of modern advanced scientific and technological techniques and analysis methods, in earthquake prediction, mineral exploration, natural disasters The predictions are very accurate; in the analysis of geological factors of engineering buildings, by predicting the interaction between engineering buildings and the geological environment, the stability of the building can be accurately guaranteed.
Whether it is the plot of the tomb-robber novel or the news report, it seems that the tomb-robber is always in a state of tension. In addition to facing the risk of being caught (both in ancient and modern times, the government severely cracks down on tomb robbing), the methods of tomb robbing are too crude and the analysis methods are not scientific. It often takes a long time to find the ancient tomb (there is no guarantee that there is "goods" inside). ). Moreover, the cultural level of tomb robbers is not high (the cultural level of professional tomb robbers may be very high). Many of them rely on the passing of experience and actual combat exploration. There are many cases of tragic death in the tomb after exploring the ancient tomb.
That’s all, don’t go into too much detail! Next time I will talk about the relationship between tomb robbing and geotechnical engineering.