Tomb of Zhou Yu

Tomb of Zhou Yu

The Tomb of Zhou Yu is located in Xiangyang Village, Maolu Township, Jintan County. In 1975, the Zhenjiang Museum excavated a batch of important cultural relics from the site, with the body found inside remarkably well-preserved. According to a scroll unearthed within the tomb titled “Official Document for Supplementing a Student at the Imperial University,” the tomb’s occupant was Zhou Yu, a student at the Imperial University during the fourth year of the Chunyou era of the Southern Song Dynasty (1244).

The tomb structure consists of a rectangular brick chamber with a vaulted ceiling, measuring 2.75 meters in length, 1.01 meters in width, and 1.6 meters in height. The front wall is situated 37 centimeters above the base of the tomb and features a niche about 35 centimeters high, 41 centimeters wide, and 15 centimeters deep. Inside the niche were one pottery bottle, one wooden memorial tablet, and one iron land deed. The burial contained one inner and one outer coffin.

The body of the tomb’s occupant is exceptionally well-preserved, with elastic soft tissue, movable joints in all limbs, and intact hair. The Shanghai Natural History Museum and Shanghai Second Medical College conducted an autopsy and analysis of the ancient remains, discovering clearly defined muscle layers in the chest and abdominal walls, as well as well-preserved muscles, blood vessels, and nerves in the limbs. All internal organs retained their external shapes, and various parasite eggs were identified during stool analysis. This provides significant value for research on corpse preservation and the pathology of ancient people. Sixty burial items were found within the coffin, including copper coins, a copper bowl, a wooden comb, bamboo strips, and a carved lacquer “Junyu” round fan. Additionally, there were 34 pieces of silk fabric, among which a “rectangular-pattern gauze cross-collar single robe” weighed just 126 grams. The important “official document” offers rare physical evidence regarding the imperial examination system of the time.