Tomb No. 43 at Longshenggang

Tomb No. 43 at Longshenggang

Tomb No. 43 at Longshenggang is a cultural tourism attraction.

Tomb No. 43 at Longshenggang is located on Longshenggang along Xianlie Road. It was excavated in 1953 and dates back to the early Eastern Han Dynasty. The tomb has a remaining earthen mound about 3 meters high. The burial pit is rectangular, measuring 6.2 meters in length and 3.6 meters in width. The bottom of the pit is divided into two levels, with the front lower than the back. The coffin chamber was constructed from large wooden planks following the shape of the pit, also in two levels. The rear level, which is elevated by 0.59 meters, is the coffin chamber, while the front lower level is divided into front and rear halves by a thick horizontal board. The front half is the antechamber, and the rear half is the artifact chamber. This simplified two-tier construction is actually a “pseudo-double-layer compartment” structure. The entrance to the coffin chamber has double seals. This is a joint burial tomb for a couple. The upper coffin chamber is divided into left and right sections by a board in the middle. The right section belonged to the female, whose lacquered wooden coffin is well-preserved and included a broken mirror as a burial object. The left section held the male, which was robbed, and the wooden coffin is damaged. Artifacts unearthed include unique glazed jars, pots, ladles, bowls, gui vessels, tripods, three-legged cauldrons, stoves, wells, granaries, houses, bronze mirrors, as well as lacquerware such as boxes, cosmetic cases, plates, and trays, and wooden items like a wooden boat and wooden figurines. Also found were agate beads and a large number of glass bead ornaments. The wooden boat is the first Han Dynasty tower ship discovered in Guangzhou’s Han tombs. The boat boards feature painted patterns in five colors—vermilion, yellow, blue, pink, and black—arranged in alternating designs. There are also wooden figurines holding oars. Ten wooden oars and one oar were found. Though scattered and incomplete upon excavation, only some parts of the boat could be restored. The boat features a multi-story structure, with only a fragment remaining from the two side walls, making the overall hull form unclear. A pottery ladle found inside the lid bears ink inscriptions reading “Store ten stones of wine to ensure a life span of three hundred years,” providing concrete evidence that the bronze and pottery ladles frequently found in Guangzhou’s Qin and Han tombs were indeed used for storing wine. A large number of blue and light blue glass beads were also unearthed. Three samples were tested and found to contain elements differing from China’s ancient low-temperature lead-barium glass system, indicating that these beads were imported goods brought by sea in the early Eastern Han Dynasty.