武威雷台汉墓

THE HAN TOMB AT LEI-T’AI IN WUWEI COUNTY,KANSU PROVINCE

雷台在武威县城北二华里处,现在是新鲜人民公社新鲜大队第十三生产队的所在地。1969年10月,当地贫下中农在雷台底下发现了一座汉墓,武威县文化馆闻讯后作了保护工作,随后,我馆会同武威县文化馆进行了清理。在清理过程中,得到当地贫下中农的积极协助。

Lying at a distance of one kilometer to the north of the seat of Wuwei County, Kansu Province, the Han tomb at Lei-t'ai was discovered in 1969. It is a vaulted multi-chambered brick tomb with a tomb passage and an earthen mound, which is found to have been looted in antiquity. The mound has a height of six meters when excavated. The walls of the sloped tomb passage are decorated with painting. The brick structure of the tomb consists of a gate, a corridor, an ante-chamber with two side chambers, a central chamber with a side chamber on the right, and a back chamber. The total length from the gate to the back wall of the back chamber is sixteen meters. The dead is interred in the back chamber but the skeleton has disintegrated.The tomb furniture, totalling over 230 pieces, has already been disturbed. It may, however, be gathered that the bronze tomb-guarding beast was placed near the entrance. The corridor is littered with bronze coins. The procession of bronze figures of horses and chariot models are found in the antechamber and its right side chamber. The central chamber contains all sorts of bronze and pottery ceremonial vessels and articles of daily use. Apart from the coffin, the back chamber has yielded silver seals, a lacquer wine vessel with three legs and various ornaments. In addition, there are over twenty thousand pieces of bronze coins which consist chiefly of the wu chu. Besides the corridor, the floors of all three main chambers and their side chambers are also littered with coins, particularly that of the back chamber which has yielded the bulk of them.A rather unique find is the procession of bronze figures of horses and chariot models. Some of the horses and figures of male and female slaves are inscribed. Among the objeets unearthed a bronze pacing horse and two bornze lamp-trees are both works of striking artistic quality.Judging by the presence of four silver seals bearing the title of 'general' and the impressive procession of bronze tomb figures of horses and chariot models, the owner of the tomb was probaply a general of the rank of erh ch'ien shih 二千石 (two thousand piculs).The tomb dates from the end of the Eastern Han and very probably from the reign of Emperor Ling-ti (A.D. 186-219).