Secrets of An Imperial Mausoleum
When Mr. Zhang slowly climbed up the steps of the tunnel, when something strange on its eastern wall caught his attention. Another passage extends downwards and right toward the Treasure Mound. More surprisingly, it is connected with the tunnel discovered within Grids A and B. It measured 8 meters wide and 120 meters long.
The entrance of the tomb lies here. Prof. He and Mr. Zhang immediately conducted the ground survey together. Immediately, they found two large fissures on the wall of the Treasure Wall. Mr. Zhang quickly knew these weren鈥檛 common fissures.
Is this just a coincidence? Mr. Zhang and his assistants walked along the Treasure Wall and found two other similar fissures on the 1,100-meter-long wall. Yet, these two fissures are entirely different from the first two.
Mr. Zhang quickly found that the fissure lies above the discovered tunnel. This means that this should be the entrance to the underground palace.
The Dingling Tomb is one of the Thirteen Imperial Tombs of the Ming Dynasty and is located in the northern outskirts of Beijing. The 13th emperor of the Ming Dynasty 鈥 Zhu Yijun, Emperor Wanli was buried there. In the mid-1950s it was excavated by archaeologists. The secrets of imperial tombs of the Ming Dynasty were revealed. But after its excavation, it was forbidden to excavate the remaining tombs. The Dingling Tomb is the only excavated imperial tomb of the Ming Dynasty and the only reference for underground palaces of the Ming Dynasty. What was it about the Dingling Tomb that changed Prof. He鈥檚 opinion?
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What Mr. Zhang learned was that the original entrance of the underground palace of Dingling Tomb doesn鈥檛 lie on its axial line but lies to its side. Is this just a coincidence? After referring to other records, Prof. He had new findings. The crown prince Zhu Biao, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang鈥檚 son, died in his youth and was buried on the east side of Xiaoling Mausoleum. His tomb is called the Eastern Mausoleum. In the underground palace of the Eastern Mausoleum, Prof. He found the same situation: the entrance of its underground palace also lies to the side of its axial line. He also discovered that Xiaoling Mausoleum and Eastern Mausoleum share the same tomb passage as do the Thirteen Imperial Tombs of the Ming Dynasty in Beijing. This phenomenon couldn鈥檛 be a simple coincidence.
But, why does the entrance of the tunnel lie to the side instead of on its axial line? From the unfinished tunnel as well as Zhang鈥檚 survey results, Prof. He drew a new conclusion.
Mr. Zhang found several large stones on the Treasure Mound. At first, he didn鈥檛 notice them. But quickly, he found these stones were everywhere and in orderly piles. Each of these stones is smooth and looks as if it was once polished. On the Treasure Mound, there are several layers. These stones are cobblestones from the riverside. Who had carried them to the Treasure Mound and piled them here and why? In the excavation report of the Dingling Tomb, Mr. Zhang and his colleagues also read of a similar scene.
After learning that Xiaoling Mausoleum has a large-scale underground palace and accurately locating its entrance, Prof. He concluded that Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang was buried here.
After over one month of surveying, the mystery was finally solved. Xiaoling Mausoleum has Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang鈥檚 underground palace. Yet, there is concern that the tomb may have been robbed. Did the collapsing of the Treasure Mound provide thieves an entrance?
In 2003, Xiaoling Mausoleum was listed as one of UNESCO鈥檚 World鈥檚 Cultural Heritage sites, attracting more visitors and gaining more attention. Yet, only a few of its secrets have been revealed.
Editor:Liu Source:CCTV.com
