Dingtao Lingsheng Lake Han Tomb

Dingtao Lingsheng Lake Han Tomb

The Dingtao Lingsheng Lake Han Tomb is a cultural tourism attraction.

The Lingsheng Lake Western Han Tomb is located about 2,000 meters northwest of Dali Village, Maji Town, Dingtao County, Shandong Province.

In March 2009, during a routine field inspection, cultural relics patrol officers in Dingtao County discovered a looted ancient tomb at the Lingsheng Lake site. Throughout 2009, the site was looted more than 20 times, and nine criminals were apprehended. After entering 2010, the looting became even more frequent. Due to the site’s remote location from the county seat and its position in open farmland, it was difficult to ensure the safety of the ancient tombs. Therefore, after consulting the provincial cultural relics bureau, it was decided to carry out rescue excavations.

On October 16, 2010, the archaeological team from the Shandong Provincial Institute of Archaeology assigned to excavate the Lingsheng Lake ancient tomb in Dingtao County began work on-site. With the care and support of provincial, municipal, and county leaders, and through the full collaboration and joint efforts of all archaeologists, the excavation proceeded smoothly. Surveys revealed that the burial mound covered an area of over 10,000 square meters. To date, approximately 5,500 square meters have been excavated, with a digging depth of about 5 meters, and nearly 30,000 cubic meters of earth removed. The existing burial mound consists of two parts: the core section is located above the burial chamber, featuring a three-tiered platform structure, roughly square in shape, and tapering upwards step by step; the outer section is reinforced with a sloped rammed-earth embankment, with the mound having a diameter of about 150 meters.

The entire burial chamber was surrounded by anti-theft sand. The anti-theft sand on the tomb roof covered an area of about 28.5 meters square (approximately 812 square meters), with a thickness of about 1 meter at the center and around 0.5 to 0.8 meters around the edges. The width of the anti-theft sand around the burial chamber was about 2 meters, and nearly 1,000 cubic meters of anti-theft sand were cleared. The overall burial chamber measured about 23.4 meters square (approximately 547 square meters), with the roof constructed from two layers of blue bricks laid over wooden planks. All the blue bricks on the roof have been removed—about 15,000 bricks in total, of which around 13,000 were intact. Each brick measured about 39 cm in length, 19 cm in width, and 9 cm in thickness. Approximately 90% of these bricks bore inscriptions in red ink, black ink, carving, incising, or stamps.

Excavations revealed that the overall structure of the tomb was in the shape of a Chinese character “亚” (Yā), with sloping passageways facing east. The burial pit was nearly square, with sides 28.5 meters long. The tomb included front, middle, and rear chambers, each with side chambers (two side chambers for the front and rear chambers, and four for the middle chamber). Surrounding the front, middle, and rear chambers was a surrounding wooden corridor, and outside that was a ring of outer coffins. The north and south outer coffins each had four rectangular chambers, while the east and west sides each had two. The overall tomb structure was exquisitely built and symmetrically arranged, with all walls constructed from small wooden beams. Though slightly decayed on the surface, the structure remained largely intact. The central chamber served as the main room and contained a lacquered coffin, which had been pried open. The wooden coffin was coated with lacquer and featured painted designs and colored patterns.

The burial method of this tomb was rather unique, and its construction was highly refined. The burial pit was an above-ground chamber artificially rammed, with its four walls reinforced by wooden boards. A large amount of sand was used around the wooden coffin chamber to form a sand-filled trench, and the top and surrounding areas of the wooden coffin chamber were sealed with blue bricks. The wooden beams were connected using mortise-and-tenon joints. According to estimates by archaeologists, the construction of this tomb required approximately 2,100 to 2,300 cubic meters of timber.

It is believed that the tomb was looted early on. When cultural relics experts entered the tomb to clean it, they did not find any remains of artifacts—not even fragments. Such a thoroughly cleaned-out tomb robbery remains an unsolved mystery. Based on the structure and scale of the tomb, experts have inferred that it is a “Huangchang Tizou” (Yellow Spruce Frame) tomb from the late Western Han Dynasty. The “Huangchang Tizou” is a wooden structure placed outside the coffin chamber, a unique feature of imperial Han tombs. The coffin chamber was surrounded by a circular structure made of stacked cypress or pine wood—a high-standard burial practice reserved only for emperors, though it could be bestowed upon favored ministers. Therefore, the tomb’s owner was likely a prince or noble who received such an honor from the emperor. Moreover, in terms of its specifications, this Huangchang Tizou tomb can be considered a sub-imperial tomb of imperial rank. This type of Huangchang Tizou tomb is the first of its kind discovered in our city and even in Shandong Province. It is the largest wooden-chamber tomb excavated in Shandong and, among similar tombs excavated in China, is the largest in scale, highest in rank, most uniquely structured, best preserved, and most representative, holding significant value for scientific research, preservation, and exhibition.

In January 2012, the “Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Archaeological Forum · 2011 China’s Major New Archaeological Discoveries,” hosted by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and organized by the Institute of Archaeology and the Archaeology Magazine, was held in Beijing. The Lingsheng Lake Western Han Tomb in Dingtao County, Shandong, was recognized by scholars as one of the most academically valuable archaeological discoveries, ranking among the “Six Major New Archaeological Discoveries in China.”

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