河北井陉县柿庄宋墓发掘报告

EXCAVATIONS OF THE SUNG TOMBS AT SHIH CHUANG, CHING HSING COUNTY, HOPEI

井陘县位于河北省西南部,境內群山錯列,皆属太行山脉支隴。柿庄位于井陘县城西南約20公里,附近群山环抱,村东有一条小河名为甘淘河,自南向北流。古墓大都在柿庄与甘淘河之間的一块耕地上,北距柿庄約0.25公里。从柿庄村西沿山东麓南行約1.5公里,为北孤台村。在村南的一块相距不到0.25公里的耕地上,也发現墓地。

Shih Chuang is a mountain village lying about twenty kilometres to the southwest of the city of Ching Hsing County in southwest Hopei. First discovered before liberation, these Sung tombs had been investigated in recent years by the Bureaus of Culture of both Shih Chia Chuang City and Hopei Province. In 1960, a joint archaeological team was organized by these two Bureaus. Excavations were began in April of that year and brought to an end by the end of September of the same year.Excavations were conducted at two sites, namely, Shih Chuang and Pei Ku Tai. Seperated by a mere distance of one and a half kilometres, the two cemeteries were both located on present farm lands.Altogether fourteen tombs have been brought to light. Except for Tomb No. 9 at Shih Chuang which is built of bricks and rocks, they are all provided with a brick tomb chamber, built in imitation of a wooden structure and consisting of the tomb passage, gate, vestibule and chamber proper. The tomb passages are all stepped while the gates simulate wooden gate towers. Of particular interest is the gate tower of Tomb No. 4 at Shih Chuang which has a platform in its upper part containing eight painted female pottery figures. In all cases the gate beneath the gate tower is arched. The tops of the tomb chambers are all dome-shaped and some are decorated with paintings representing the sun, moon, and stars, as well as some cranes and clouds. The plan of the tombs is either square, round, hexagonal or octagonal in shape. All around the uppor part of the chamber walls are elaborate architectural details in brick inspired by wooden proto-types while the walls between the columns are decorated with either sets of brick furniture in high relief or paint ings representing scenes taken from real life. In addition to scenes showing the dead and his wife giving a 'banquet party', the themes represented include the making of offerings to the dead, grazings of sheep and other domesticated animals and flocks of wild geese ever a marsh with reeds.Tomb No. 6 at Shih Chuang contains an impressive number of wall paintings of which the most outstanding represents a group of ladies pounding some silks. The painting on its western wall represents a festive scene. Among the paintings found in Tomb No. 2 at Shih Chuang is a scene representing some peasants ploughing and harvesting in the fields.In some cases, a square or hexagonal brick structure resembling the base of a Buddhist stupa has been built over the top of the tomb chamber. Its sides are decorated with carved bricks representing flowers, birds and animals, children at play or some legendary winged human figures. The sides of the hexagonal structure above the chamber of Tomb No. 3 at Shih Chuang are painted in color with some dwarfs.Most of the tombs contain either two or three skeletons. But the amount of tomb furniture is rather negligible, with only a few porcelains like the pillow, vase and bowl and perhaps a bronze mirror and some coins.As the largest group of Sung dynasty tombs ever excavated in Hopei province in recent years, these tombs have provided some valuable data for the study of the archaeology of this period.