A visit to archaeology lab of tomb of Marquis of Haihun

Cultural workers busily making progress in an archaeology laboratory in Nanchang, east China's Jiangxi province on Jan. 5, 2016. Pieces of relics packed in wooden boxes wait to be brought to light. 

In Nanchang, east China's Jiangxi province, a 2,000-year-old tomb from the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC–9AD) was recently discovered. Over 10,000 objects were unearthed, including ten tons of copper coins (2 million pieces, which have a value equal to 50 kilograms of gold today), chimes, bamboo slips, tomb figurines and more, all of which shed light on the lives of the nobility in the Western Han Dynasty.

The tomb is thought to belong to Liu He, grandson of Emperor Wu. Liu was given the title Marquis of Haihun after being deposed as emperor after only 27 days. Haihun is the ancient name of a very small kingdom in the north of Jiangxi.

In the laboratory, cultural workers record the rich information from the relics, including images, text, graphing and three-dimensional models while cleaning them.

"Not everything can be restored to its original appearance," said Li Cunxin, researcher at the Institute of Archaeology in the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "For example, the canopy of this horse-drawn carriage is totally rotten. However, we can extract its information and conduct a comprehensive analysis of its material, structure and technology to make an analog restoration and physical rehabilitation with the assistance of modern technology. In this way, the travel methods of nobility in the Western Han Dynasty can be reproduced."

Research work in the archaeology laboratory for the tomb of the Marquis of Haihun has just started, and will continue for years to come.