Uncovering the mystery of the Empress of the Tang Dynasty - Archaeological discovery of Wu Zetian's ancient tomb
The Tang Dynasty was a glorious period in Chinese history, and Wu Zetian was a peak in the history of the Tang Dynasty Controversial figure. She is the only empress in Chinese history and the last emperor of the Tang Dynasty. Her life and deeds have left a profound mark in history, but the mystery of her life has always been the focus of historians and people. Until recently, archaeologists discovered Wu Zetian's ancient tomb in Shaanxi Province, unveiling the mystery of her life for us.
The process of archaeological discovery
The process of archaeological discovery of Wu Zetian’s ancient tomb can be described as a tortuous story. As early as the 1950s, someone discovered a tomb from the Tang Dynasty in Taihua Mountain in Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province, but it did not receive enough attention at the time. Until 2002, archaeologists discovered a group of Tang Dynasty tombs near Taihua Mountain, including a large and complex tomb that was believed to be the tomb of a member of the Tang Dynasty royal family. But the identity of the tomb owner was not discovered at that time.
In 2018, archaeologists discovered a larger and more complete tomb in another tomb group in Taihua Mountain. After a series of archaeological excavations and identifications, it was confirmed that this tomb was that of Wu Zetian 's mausoleum.
Tomb structure and identity of tomb owner
Wu Zetian’s mausoleum is a large-scale and complex tomb, covering an area of ??1,500 square meters. The tomb consists of a front hall, a middle hall, a back hall, a tomb chamber and a side chamber. The entire tomb is arranged in an east-west direction. The front hall, middle hall and back hall are all in a "convex" shape, while the tomb chamber is in a "concave" shape.
The interior decoration of the tomb is very exquisite, and the murals and stone carvings inside the tomb are very exquisite. The coffin in the tomb is a large sarcophagus with a diameter of about 1.5 meters and a length of about 3.5 meters, which contains Wu Zetian's body.
Through the analysis of the cultural relics in the tomb and the structure of the tomb, archaeologists confirmed that the identity of the tomb owner was Wu Zetian. At the same time, the cultural relics and tomb structures in the tombs also provide us with a lot of information about Wu Zetian's life.
Uncovering the mystery of Wu Zetian’s life
Wu Zetian was a very controversial figure in the history of the Tang Dynasty. Her deeds and character during her lifetime have always been the focus of historians and people. . Through the archaeological discovery of Wu Zetian's ancient tomb, we can uncover the mystery of her life and learn more about her.
First of all, Wu Zetian’s mausoleum is large in scale and complex in structure, which shows that she had a very high status during the Tang Dynasty. The cultural relics in the tomb and the decoration inside the tomb are also very particular, which shows that she paid great attention to her image and status during her lifetime.
Secondly, the cultural relics and tomb structures in the tombs also provide us with some information about Wu Zetian’s life. For example, some cultural relics related to Buddhism were unearthed in the tomb, which shows that Wu Zetian believed in Buddhism during her lifetime. At the same time, the murals and stone carvings in the tomb also show that Wu Zetian paid great attention to her image and status, which is very consistent with her image and character in history.