Writings and symbols found within tomb of ancient Chinese Emperor

Within the recently opened tomb in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, central China, belonging to the Chinese Emperor Liu He of the of Western Han Dynasty (206 BC – 24 AD) archaeologists discovered numerous handwritings and symbols at the bottom of the outer coffin.

(by China.org.cn)
Marks on the outer coffin (by China.org.cn)

The Emperor Liu He (92-59 BC) was the grandson of Emperor Wu, the greatest ruler of the Han Dynasty. His tomb was recently opened for study. So far the main coffin was researched and now the third level of the tomb is being researched. So far archaeologists have found handwritings and symbols at the bottom of the wooden outer coffin.

Coffin wood from Liu He's tomb (by China.org.cn)
Coffin wood from Liu He’s tomb (by China.org.cn)

The experts state that the marks on the coffin and their meaning are still unknown, but it is supposed that they carry the information on the coffin, such as the size and origin. Each piece of coffin wood, which will be recorded, photographed and scanned before dismantling. After that, experts will excavate the bottom of the tomb. Earlier a bamboo book was discovered within the tomb, supposedly about the art of necromancy with five colours representing five kinds of food resembling the Chinese Wu Xing philosophy – a fivefold (including five elements such as wood, fire, earth, metal and water) conceptual scheme used in many traditional Chinese fields to explain a wide array of phenomena.

(after China.org.cn)

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