Tushan Han Tombs

Tushan Han Tombs

The Tushan Han Tombs are located about 200 meters north of Yunlong Mountain in Xuzhou City. They are commonly known as Tushan (Earth Mountain) because they were built by piling up earth. The earthen mound currently stands 18 meters high and has a diameter of 65 meters. The rammed layers are clearly visible, and the soil, which is a mix of grayish-brown colors, is relatively hard.

In the winter of 1969, local residents unearthed Tomb No. 1 while digging earth on the northern slope, and it was excavated by the Nanjing Museum in June of the following year. In the summer of 1977, the Xuzhou Museum discovered Tomb No. 2 on the southern side of the mound, which is larger in scale than Tomb No. 1.

Tomb No. 1 at Tushan faces 5 degrees northeast. The tomb chamber is constructed from a combination of brick and stone, predominantly brick. There are two types of bricks, both bluish-green in color. The rectangular bricks measure 46 cm in length, 23 cm in width, and 11.5 cm in thickness. The wedge-shaped bricks are 48 cm long, 39 cm wide at the top, 29 cm wide at the bottom, and 11.5 cm thick. Special yellow-core stones, totaling 58 pieces, were used primarily for the earthen mound and the foundation of the passage, with a few used for the roof. The tomb chamber has a cruciform layout, measuring 8.6 meters in total length, 5.38 meters in width, and 4.58 meters in height. It consists of five parts: the passage, sealed door, corridor, front chamber, and rear chamber. The passage is 3.9 meters wide, though its length is unknown, and its base features a layer of thin bluish-green ash. Between the passage and the corridor is a sealed door wall made of 35 yellow-core stones arranged in seven layers of five stones each. The corridor is 2.8 meters long, 1.98 meters wide, and 2.8 meters high. The front chamber is transverse in shape, measuring 5.38 meters east-west, 2.3 meters north-south, and 4.58 meters high. The walls are constructed using a brick-laying technique of two horizontal and one vertical strip bricks, with the ceiling formed by wedge-shaped parallel arches. The arch bricks consist of two layers, and above the arched ceiling lies a layer of bluish-green limestone slabs. The rear chamber is rectangular, measuring 3.51 meters north-south, 2.04 meters east-west, and 2.8 meters high. As the main burial chamber, its structure is similar to that of the front chamber. The floors of all chambers are paved with bluish-green bricks laid vertically, with gaps between the bricks filled with white lime mortar. The walls of the main chambers are coated with a layer of white lime plaster.

The yellow-core stones are all rectangular cuboids with uniform width and thickness but varying lengths (70 cm wide, 47 cm thick, and 32–92 cm long). All six sides are finished, and most stones are inscribed. Some bear dates, such as: “The 14th year of the official, No. 26, recorded by Sheng Boyi of the Provincial Garden.” Others simply indicate the origin of the stone material and the craftsman’s name, such as “Shang Fugong artisan Tianyang made,” “Zhang Zhongshi Song Ju made,” etc. Most inscriptions are in clerical script, some in regular script, and a few are written in red ink.

Tomb No. 1 at Tushan yielded over a hundred artifacts including silver-threaded jade suits, gilded beast-shaped inkstone boxes, bronze hu vases with bird-and-beast patterns, as well as objects made of copper, iron, silver, pottery, jade, and stone. The jade suit, also known as a jade casket, serves as important physical evidence for studying the identity of the tomb’s occupant. Based on the structure of the tomb and the unearthed artifacts, it is determined that Tomb No. 1 at Tushan likely belonged to an individual associated with a Pengcheng King of the Eastern Han Dynasty. However, since the Northern Wei Dynasty, this earth mound has been mistakenly regarded as the tomb of Fan Zeng, a claim that should be corrected. Tomb No. 1 at Tushan was reinforced in the summer of 1981 and remains preserved in its original location.

Tomb No. 2 at Tushan is significantly larger in scale, structure, and design compared to Tomb No. 1, and it may indeed be the tomb of a Pengcheng King, though this awaits confirmation through excavation.

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units