The Brick Tomb Wonder

The Brick Tomb Wonder

The Brick Tomb Wonder is a cultural tourism attraction.

"Brick Tomb" refers to a late Eastern Han Dynasty family tomb located southeast of Derenwu Village, Yongledian Town, Tongzhou District. In July 1959, when it was designated as a cultural relic protection site of Tongzhou District, there were three large earthen mounds arranged in an arc, facing each other amidst overgrown trees and wild grass, with scattered pottery shards, hence the name "The Three Great Mounds." Originally burial mounds of Han Dynasty tombs, two of the western mounds were destroyed by locals who set up horse farms and excavated earth to level their pens. In 1969, during the digging of air-raid shelters, the remaining eastern earthen mound was tunneled into, damaging all the funerary pottery inside. In March 1983, the archaeological team of the Beijing Cultural Relics Work Brigade conducted a clearance of the site and only recovered fragments of pottery, pottery figurines, pottery towers, along with a small number of bronze coins such as "Huo Quan" and "Wu Zhu." Despite the damage, the wonder remains, and it can be regarded as the finest brick tomb in northern China.

The tomb faces south, with an outer layer of yellow earth, now reduced to a height of 5 meters. The remaining structure has an almost square base, covering approximately 600 square meters. Inside is a semi-underground brick tomb complex consisting of five main chambers, two corridors, two passageways, and eight side chambers—totaling 17 chambers. There are two entrance ramps in front, connected by a central passage. The entire brick tomb is meticulously structured, with clear hierarchy, mutual coordination, and seamless unity. The main chambers all have square floor plans, with pyramid-shaped domed ceilings that rise progressively from front to back; the other brick chambers all have rectangular floor plans.

The ceilings are...

The construction technique combines brick and wood. First, a layer of lime powder was spread as a base, followed by a tightly laid course of rope-patterned bricks. Then, square bricks embossed with dot-patterned diamond designs or plain square bricks were laid. The walls consist of a single row of steeply laid bricks and two rows of header bricks, interspersed with wedge-shaped bricks. The shoulders and ceiling areas are fully painted with red and white cloud-thunder motifs, giving a simple yet mysterious appearance. This large-scale Han Dynasty brick tomb is a classic example of ancient brick tomb architecture.