A 2,000-year-old “celestial calendar” was discovered in an ancient Chinese tomb!
Archaeologists in China have found an amazing collection of rectangular wooden pieces believed to be linked to an ancient astronomical calendar. These pieces were found well-preserved inside a 2,000-year-old tomb in southwest China. The set consists of 23 wooden slats, each about 2.5 cm wide and 10 cm long, and each bearing a Chinese character associated with the Tiangan Dizhi, a calendar system dating back to the Shang Dynasty that ruled from 1600 BC to 1045 BC. M.
Scientists believe that one of these slices represented the current year, while the other slices were used to mark years on the calendar. Circular holes were also observed on the edges of the strips, indicating that they had previously been bound together. However, it is still unclear how these wooden pieces function as calendars, experts tell Live Science. This is the first time such objects have been found in an ancient tomb, although the practice of writing characters on strips of wood or bamboo was common in China before the invention of paper.
Written wooden strips and several other artifacts were discovered in an ancient tomb in Wolong District, about 1,400 kilometers southwest of Beijing, archaeologists from the Chongqing municipal government told the Global Times. The tomb, which is believed to have been built in 193 BC during the Western Han Dynasty, contains a written list of all buried items. These items include lacquer bowls, boxes, jars, and dishes, as well as bamboo utensils, musical pipes, spears, copper cooking stands, wooden figurines, and pottery and bronze utensils.
Archaeologist Wang Meng reports that the tomb discovered in southwest China represents one of the best examples of ancient tombs preserved in this region. According to Huang Wei, leader of the research team, told the Global Times, this tomb contains more than 600 artifacts that reflect important aspects of ancient culture.
The traditional Chinese calendar, the Tiangan Daizi, is widely used, as is its use in Chinese astrology, astronomer Ed Krupp, director of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles and author of Echoes of the Ancient Heavens: The Astronomy of Lost Civilizations, told Live Science. However, the wooden pieces discovered in the Wolong Tomb, which bear calendar notations, were found to be unique.
These woodcuts are important because they represent the first and only known example of their kind. He noted that the cuttings do not appear to be a complete calendar, but rather they may have been used to indicate a specific year within a 60-year calendar cycle. He also mentioned a similar practice at a Taoist temple in the Chinese city of Suzhou, where each year of the cycle is represented by a statue on which a special mark is placed when the year is in effect. Discoveries at the Wolong Cemetery indicate that the person buried there was of high status, given the many and exquisite artifacts found with him. He described these materials as rich and of high value.