Chapter 2378: Chapter 2281: Ancient Tomb Reliefs

Although Xie Daoyuan previously led a team down and measured the air index in the outer chamber, since the main chamber and the auricle chamber along with the burial pit have not been opened, no one can guarantee that there are no toxic gases in those rooms.

So to be safe, Zhou Shitao demanded everyone descending into the tomb to wear protective masks to prevent any unexpected incidents.

As they entered the corridor, the group proceeded ahead, and Zhou Shitao ran his hands over the green stone bricks one by one as they went. This time, because there were more people with both mine lamps and battery-powered lamps, the moment the lights were turned on, the entire corridor became bright.

Walking inside the corridor, no one spoke, but Huo Sining felt a certain indescribable bustle in the ancient tomb, unlike the previous time when they descended into the tomb with trepidation.

After passing through the corridor, they arrived at the tall stone door.

Crossing this stone door would lead to the outer chamber, which spans several hundred square meters.

Previously, the Oil Rat used a jack to open the stone door, and when Huo Sining and the others left, they didn’t close it, so now the stone door was wide open in front of Huo Sining’s group, and the mine lamps instantly illuminated the entire outer chamber, revealing all its furnishings.

Zhou Shitao examined the stone door closely and then walked into the outer chamber, scrutinizing especially the uneven stone walls, suddenly speaking:

"This outer chamber was not artificially hollowed out initially but was processed later on."

Huo Sining was stunned at his words, and Xie Daoyuan, puzzled, asked: "How can that be? There are obvious marks of chiseling, and just looking at the cave walls, sharp edges and lines, round spots even drawn with compasses, shovel marks, all uniform—clearly crafted by top-notch stone masons."

Zhou Shitao shook his head, "Not so. Look here and you’ll understand."

Everyone followed the direction Zhou Shitao pointed.

At the foot of this stone door was an exposed stone layer showing a meat-white, mud-like stone surface, stunning everyone.

Xie Daoyuan hadn’t reacted yet when Shi Qingyun exclaimed: "Stalactite, this... could this be a cave?"

Upon hearing Shi Qingyun’s words, Director He also caught on and first explained:

"Indeed, Luofu Mountain has a very magnificent natural cave, but it’s at least seven to eight kilometers from here."

Zhou Shitao nodded, "That makes perfect sense. Your words actually support my speculation. Luofu Mountain has natural caves, indicating conditions here can form such caves."

Xie Daoyuan was somewhat confused, "So this ancient tomb, astonishingly, is crafted based on a natural cave. But the karst terrain of a cave is complex. Making such a grand tomb within a cave is not simpler than hollowing out a mountain tomb, so why bother?"

Zhou Shitao nodded, somewhat agreeing with Xie Daoyuan’s perspective:

"Indeed, building a tomb within a cave, dealing with water infiltration alone poses significant challenges."

"However simultaneously, the drainage system actually reinforces my hypothesis."

"This area in the mountainside should experience minimal water, yet you noticed the drainage channel arranged along the corridor, over ten centimeters wide—indicative of constant water infiltration in the tomb; otherwise, such a wide drainage channel wouldn’t be necessary."

"This reveals that during the tomb’s construction, the owner was already considering water accumulation’s damage to the burial."

As they discussed, the geology surveyors brought by Director He began sampling and analyzing stone blocks from the cave walls.

With high-tech analysis equipment on site for rock composition analysis, feedback was delivered in a matter of minutes:

"Based on our rock sampling and analysis, results show, the dominant components of the stone wall are calcium carbonate deposits, which are primarily stalactite components, definitely confirming this as a cave, as Mr. Zhou noted."

Now even Xie Daoyuan had to admire Zhou Shitao’s keen insight and analytical acuity.

Aside from knowing this ancient tomb was once a natural cave, now subjected to artificial alteration, it doesn’t ensure smooth sailing. Instead, hanging in everyone’s minds was a colossal question mark.

Indeed, among the archaeological team, including Huo Sining, even Zhou Shitao was puzzled, wondering why it was like this.

Why would Ge Hong, possessing wealth and status in his era, where merely a word would gather people to help build his tomb, choose such a place for his tomb?

Generally, ancient tombs would avoid sites like stalactite-containing rock cliffs.

This is because stalactites can form caves due to soluble rocks, particularly carbonate rocks that, upon erosion by flowing water, may manifest bizarre terrain, potentially forming stone gulches, stone forests, caves, or underground rivers.

A well-made ancient tomb could morph into something completely different after centuries, perhaps even the main chamber’s coffin might be destroyed, which surely wasn’t the tomb owner’s intention in constructing the tomb.

Nobles constructing their tomb primarily consider body preservation, hoping to shelter future generations. A destroyed tomb would be considered a bad omen, hence nobody would select such a taboo site.

This is why even Zhou Shitao couldn’t understand why Ge Hong chose such a location.

Huo Sining mentally circled several times, baffled.

The outer chamber was approximately four to five meters tall; the previous time Huo Sining went down with Xie Daoyuan and others, she hadn’t realized this cave was constructed on a natural cave base, so upon entering she felt nothing special.

But upon knowing it was karst terrain and seeing this four or five-meter-high outer chamber, all that remained was wonder.

Not to mention, just this outer chamber, carving the walls and ceiling to such unique designs required effort going beyond ordinary craftsmen’s abilities.

Bear in mind this outer chamber covering hundreds of square meters, yet the ceiling’s junctions with the walls were rounded, with no sharp edges to speak of, plus the ceiling had many delicate bas-reliefs—all in all a major undertaking.

Over there, Director He used a light to shine once around the stone walls and ceiling, seemingly noticing something odd, couldn’t help but shine again, suddenly spoke:

"This relief... it’s not randomly carved, it feels these paintings have some connection, perhaps narrating a story."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.