Strange “dragon” appeared in the ancient tomb

In 1959, a farmer in Dao Hoa village, Thach Lau district, Lu Huong town in Shanxi province, China, was plowing the field with his buffalo when he discovered a black hole in the ground. After checking, the farmer found this to be an ancient tomb and reported it to the local Cultural Relics Board.

While waiting for the archaeological team to arrive, some locals climbed down the tomb to search for treasure. However, before they could get inside, they suddenly saw that the ground below the grave was red like blood . Too scared, they ran away and did not dare to look back.

Archaeologists have found various bronze items in the ancient tomb. (Photo: Sohu)

When the archaeological team of Shanxi Province came and inspected it, they confirmed that the tomb was large in scale and of high standard. There are a lot of cinnabar inside the grave, so the soil is as red as blood. The ancient tomb belongs to the Shang – Zhou dynasties and dates back to about 3,000 years ago.

After more than 20 days and nights of non-stop excavation, archaeologists have found more than 50 bronze items from the Shang – Zhou dynasties in this ancient tomb. They include 1 complete set of bells, 7 bronze holders and various small and large bronze items. Based on the unearthed items, the archaeological team judged this to be an aristocratic tomb from the late Shang dynasties to the Zhou dynasties.

After classifying cultural relics, something unexpected happened. (Photo: Sohu)

A month later, the archaeological team finished sorting the unearthed cultural relics and packed them into crates. The next step is to transport them to the lab for cleaning and restoration.

Just as they were about to leave, it suddenly started to rain heavily, and an archaeologist suddenly remembered that there was still an item in the tomb that had not been moved out, and someone else wore the rain to come in to carry it out. At this time, the rain was getting heavier and heavier, and the water in the ancient tombs was also increasing. After a while, the water was already knee-deep, and the two of them had to grope each step. Suddenly, a person tripped over something under his feet and almost fell, fortunately a colleague next to him was able to catch it in time.

A “dragon” made of precious green copper has been found. (Photo: Sohu0

This person felt very strange, he thought to himself: “If everything has been cleaned up, what is left in this tomb?” He reached into the water and groped for a while, finally unearthing something he would never forget. That thing was a ” dragon” made of bronze, it had sharp teeth that looked quite ferocious.

Surprised, he took the dragon and ran outside shouting: ” Hey, I have found a treasure, everyone come and see it” . Other archaeologists who were busy carrying luggage heard the call and stopped working. They gathered around and saw that this bronze dragon had a very strange shape and intricate patterns that they had never seen before. An expert immediately said: “Please report to the police as soon as possible because there may still be antiques underneath.”

In order to prevent the remaining precious cultural relics from being stolen, the archaeological team immediately applied to the local Public Security Department to protect the scene. Soon, a group of policemen arrived and took turns guarding the grave.

Close-up of a unique pattern carved on the body of the “dragon”. (Photo: Sohu)

After checking, the dragon was actually a green bronze vase. It is 43 cm long and 13 cm wide. The belly of the dragon is curved and bulging, the tail is cut flat, on the back there is an umbrella-shaped hook. The total dragon looks like a dragon boat moored in the middle of the water with a very unique shape.

The archaeological team all confirmed they had never seen a dragon like it. Based on the decoration style of this cultural relic, they believe that this bronze dragon is a Shang Dynasty wine jar. Not only that, it is also made from green fields. With the material and age of this wine bottle, experts say its value is not small, can be considered as a national treasure. They named it “Dragon-shaped light” (ie dragon-shaped wine bottle).

The unexpected origin of the strange “dragon”

In order to find the origin of the “Dragon-shaped light”, the archaeological team collected clues all over the country. Finally, they found its owner. As it turned out, the owner of this wine bottle was Khuong Tu Nha ‘s father-in-law. Jiang Ziya was a founding father of the Zhou dynasty in the 12th century BC and was the monarch who founded the state of Qi that existed from the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Warring States period in Chinese history.

Legend has it that, at that time, when Khuong Tu Nha followed King Chu, he held a party at home to receive the king. The food and wine were served, and Zhou Yu was attracted to a bottle of wine. This wine bottle has the shape of a dragon, hanging in the middle of the house by a rope. Its posture is full of pride, just lift the dragon’s tail slightly and delicious wine will flow from its mouth.

Chu Vu Vuong loved this dragon-shaped wine bottle, he asked Khuong Tu Nha where it came from. Unexpectedly, Khuong Tu Nha found all kinds of excuses to refuse to talk about the background of the wine bottle. Chu Vu Vuong was angry, so he stood up and demanded to return. Khuong Tu Nha hastily explained, he said, his father-in-law made this bottle of wine to pray for innocent people who were slaughtered by the King. Later, Khuong Tu Nha’s father-in-law gave this bottle of wine to him. When his father-in-law died, Khuong Tu Nha buried this jar of wine in his tomb.

This green bronze “dragon” is recognized as a national treasure and has been requested to be banned from display abroad. (Photo: Sohu)

Thus, archaeologists have determined that the owner of the ancient tomb found in Son Tay is Khuong Tu Nha’s father-in-law. This tomb and the things found are of great research value to archaeologists.

As for the dragon-shaped wine jar, it was later classified as a national cultural relic by the State Cultural Heritage Management Department. It is also prohibited from being displayed abroad. Currently, it is being displayed by the Shanxi Museum as a treasure in the main hall.