光化五座坟西汉墓

THE WESTERN HAN TOMBS AT WU-TSO-FN IN KUANG-HUA COUNTY

"五座坟"在湖北省光化县东南约十二公里处,它是汉水东面的白莲公社青山大队辖内丘陵岗地西缘的一座小土岗(图一)。清《光化县志·陵墓》载:"五座坟在县治南乡,高大如丘陵,土人耕于其侧,时得古铜炉鼎。"说明这里过去曾有高大的封土冢堆,"五座坟"或因此而得名。由于冢墓曾屡遭盗掘,加以长期的自然变化,现在只残存一些不甚明显的土冢。

Wu-tso-fên(Five Tombs) is an earthen mound located in the Ch'ing-shan(Blue Moun-tain)Brigade of the Pai-lien(White Lotus)Commune in Kuang-hua County,Hupei Pro-vince.In December 1973,in coordination with a water conservancy project seven WesternHan tombs were excavated here.The tombs are all oblong earthern shafts with wooden chambers but only TombsNo.4 and No.5 are further provided with a shaft-like tomb passages.Most of thewooden chambers are covered with charcoal and white limy clay except Tomb No.3 inwhich only white limy clay was used.The chambers are built of long squared timbersand supported by sleepers.Of the seven tombs excavated Tombs No.3 and No.6 aredistinguished by their unusual structure,impressive size and relatively well-preservedcondition.The tomb furniture,totalling over nine hundred pieces,are found in the woodenchambers and coffins.Of these,700 pieces are found in Tomb No.3 alone.Amongthe bronzes unearthed are ting-tripod,fang-and hu-vases and mirrors.The pottery inclu-des the ting-tripod,hu-and wêng-vases.Among the objects of lacquer and wood are thechih-cup,lien-toilet--boxes,combs and pi-combs,models of chariots and horses.In addition,there are iron swords with lacquered sheaths,inscribed bamboo-slips,silk textiles,grains,etc.,but most of them are already partly decayed.Judging by the tomb structure and the composition of tomb furniture,the seven tombsmay be divided into three groups.Tombs No.2 and No.4,which fall into Group Ⅰ,bothhave a rather long and narrow pit.Their pottery consists basically of the ting-tripod,hu-vase,kuan-vase and the wêng-vase(Type Ⅰ).They both contain a bronze mirror withinterlaced dragon designs and probably date from before the reign of Emperor Wu-ti.Group Ⅱ consists of Tombs No.1,No.3 and No.6.The bronzes are composed basicallyof the ting-tripod,fang-and hu-vases and hsien-steamer.They also contain the pai jumirror,百乳镜 chao ming mirror 昭明镜 and Type Ⅱ pottery wêng-vase and probablydate from the reign of Emperor Wu-ti.Group Ⅲ includes Tombs No.5 and No.7 whichcontain Type Ⅱ pottery wêng-vase and chao ming mirror,as well as wu chu coins and potterymodels of wells and ovens respectively.They probably date from the same period as thetombs of Group Ⅱ or slightly later.In the Western Han,the area of what is now Kuang-hua County was the fief of HsiaoHo,Marquis of Tsan,and his offsprings.The present cemetery might well have belongedto the Marquis of Tsan and his family.