24 September 2023 The Future is the Product of the Past

China exhibits 2,000-year-old artifacts discovered in Guangzhou

On August 10, the National Museum of China launched an exhibition featuring archaeological finds from ancient China’s Qin (221–207 BC) and Han (202 BC-AD 220) dynasties excavated in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province in south China.

Among the objects on exhibit, several representatives remain to provide witness to the identity, class, and rank of the Nanyue Kingdom’s top nobles. The architectural elements, coins, and wooden slips from the Nanyue Palace depict the high-level palaces’ characteristics and the aristocracy’ luxury lifestyle at the period.

“The relics may highlight the important achievements of archaeological work in Guangzhou in recent years, as well as demonstrate the historical and cultural aspects of the Lingnan area going back more than 2,000 years,”  Zhai Shengli told CGTN, the curator of the exhibition department at the museum.

The gold dragon button seal discovered in the Nanyue King tomb has sparked widespread interest due to its design, which features a famous dragon-like tiger, and its material, which broke the rule that all imperial seals were made of white jade.

The gold seal was discovered between the tomb owner’s chest and abdomen, indicating the most credible evidence of the owner’s identification.

One of the relics displayed at the National Museum of China in Beijing, August 10. /Xinhua
One of the relics displayed at the National Museum of China in Beijing, August 10. /Xinhua

According to Zhai Shengli, “The gold seal of the king of Nanyue, Zhao Mo, unearthed at the Nanyue King tomb is the largest gold seal excavated so far. It is also the only gold dragon button seal, which reflects the identity and status of the Nanyue rulers, and a series of historical facts recorded in the literature at that time,”

Emperors and the high aristocracy of the Han Dynasty wore jade funeral clothes. The jade burial suits of ancient China were fashioned as armor for the afterlife, threaded in silver and gold from hundreds of plates of precious stones to avoid fatal deterioration.

The jade burial suits in this exhibition are more special because it is sewn with silk threads, not gold or silver wires.

Zhao’s body and his jade burial suit, which are on exhibit, were so deteriorated that the jade fragments dispersed over the ground following excavation. The specialists worked for more than three years to repair the outfit.

“The jade burial suit unearthed at the Nanyue King tomb is a relatively ancient suit in our archaeological findings. It is about a decade earlier than the jade clothes sewn with gold wire unearthed at the Han tombs of Mancheng. Besides, this jade burial suit is not sewn with gold, silver, or copper wires as recorded in the literature, but sewn with silk threads,” said Zhai. 

The exhibition, which began with the display of 332 cultural treasures from the Qin and Han eras, will run until November 9.

Banner
Related Post

2,000-year-old graves found in ancient necropolis beneath Paris Train Station

24 April 2023

24 April 2023

Archaeologists have discovered 50 tombs in an ancient necropolis just meters from a busy train station in central Paris, and...

1800-year-old statue head found in Ancient Smyrna Theater in western Turkey

30 July 2022

30 July 2022

A statue head dated to the 2nd century AD was unearthed during the excavations at the Ancient Smyrna Theater, located...

In Russia, archaeologists 2100-Year-Old Medallion of Goddess Aphrodite and a warrior tomb unearthed

30 October 2022

30 October 2022

Archaeologists have unearthed a silver medallion depicting the Greek goddess Aphrodite (Roma Venüs) in a 2100-year-old grave of a priestess...

6,000-year-old Finds in Dorset Downs

11 June 2021

11 June 2021

In the Dorset Downs, a significant landscaping project has revealed a plethora of intriguing findings on a grand scale. Excavations...

Glazed Bricks with Bull and Dragon Motifs Discovered at Persepolis

17 December 2021

17 December 2021

A team of Iranian and Italian archaeologists recently unearthed some glazed bricks bearing bull and dragon motifs in the ancient...

Contemporaneous with ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia the Indus Valley Civilization city of ‘Mohenjo Daro’: Skilled urban planners with a reverence for the control of water

10 September 2022

10 September 2022

The Indus River Valley (or Harappan) civilization (3300-1300 BCE) lasted 2,000 years and spanned northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan and northwest...

China’s construction of the first archaeological museum which will house the famous Terracotta Warriors has been completed

19 April 2022

19 April 2022

Construction of the first archaeological museum in China’s northwestern province of Shaanxi, which will house the famous Terracotta Warriors, was...

HS2 archaeologists discover Romanization of Iron Age village in Britain

12 January 2022

12 January 2022

Archaeologists have uncovered a vast Roman trading town on Britain’s HS2 high-speed rail route. Evidence found during a dig of...

The Stolen Frescoes were Returned to the Pompeii Archaeological Park

20 May 2021

20 May 2021

Six frescoes ripped from the remains of ancient Roman villas years ago have been returned to the Pompeii archaeological site,...

A long-lost branch of the Nile helped in building Egypt’s pyramids – Scientists Say

1 September 2022

1 September 2022

The Giza Pyramids are one of the world’s most iconic cultural landscapes, and they have fascinated humans for thousands of...

A surprising discovery in Lublin countryside! Ancient figurines of Egyptian and Roman gods found

6 May 2023

6 May 2023

Two ancient figurines depicting the Egyptian god Osiris and a bust of the Roman god Bacchus were found in the...

Archaeologists identify three new Roman camps in Arabia

27 April 2023

27 April 2023

Through remote sensing analysis, archaeologists have identified three new Roman fortified camps throughout northern Arabia. Their study, released today in...

Early Roman Aqueduct Discovered in Turkey’s Aydın Province

27 May 2021

27 May 2021

In the Kuşadasi region of western Turkey’s Aydin, archaeologists and scholars unearthed an approximately 2,000-year-old ancient Roman aqueduct. Experts believe...

2,400-year-old unearthed flush toilet in China

18 February 2023

18 February 2023

According to a China Daily report, the lower parts of a flush toilet estimated to be 2,400 years old have...

The 3400-year-old city belonging to a mysterious Kingdom emerged from the Tigris river

30 May 2022

30 May 2022

Archaeologists from Germany and Kurdistan have discovered a 3,400-year-old Mittani Empire-era city on the Tigris River. The ruins emerged on...

Comments
Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *