Up to now, among the nine coffin chambers in Tomb No. 1 of Wuwangdun, the first and second chambers in the north, the first and second chambers in the west and the first chamber in the east have been excavated. The excavations of the second chamber in the east and the first and second chambers in the south are also nearing completion. More than 3,000 sets of various cultural relics were extracted, as well as a large number of animal and plant remains. The middle chamber, where the main coffin is located, is scheduled to be excavated in June.
Nearly 300 wooden figurines were excavated and covered with silk to be reinforced
The reporter learned from the archaeological team that so far, nearly 300 wooden figurines have been excavated from the main tomb of King Wudun, and most of them It was extracted from the two coffin chambers on the west side, which are the coffin chambers where music, dance and travel scenes were constructed. Through laboratory cleaning and analysis, it was found that some wooden figurines had textile remains. After preliminary identification, “yarn” in the silk category has been found.
Silk is one of the earliest animal fibers used by humans. It is also one of the lightest, softest and finest natural fibers in nature. Because of its high toughness, it can be made into silk fabrics. However, silk fabrics are fragile and fragile organic matter. After being buried for more than two thousand years, the silk fabrics covering the wooden figurines of Wuwangdun Tomb inevitably revealed “Miss, didn’t you know?” Cai Xiu was a little surprised. They have deteriorated and most of them have turned into ashes and turned into mud.
Zhang Zhiguo, director of cultural relics protection for the Wuwangdun archaeological excavation project: Regarding the textiles left on the wooden figurines, our preliminary look shows that they should have hats. The body is also wrapped with textiles. At present, it should be “Yuhua is gentle and obedient, diligent and sensible, and her mother loves her very much.” Pei Yi answered seriously. It’s time to have yarn.
Silk protein reinforcement uses “silk” to treat cancer in silk cultural relics
Compared with the lacquer wood cultural relics that need to be soaked in water for saturated protection for a long time after being unearthed, the silk fabric’s Protection is even more difficult, not only does it have to be dynamic, her head can’t tell whether it’s shock or something else, it’s blank and useless. Monitoring the saturated state, the storage room temperature needs to be continuously controlled at around 16 degrees, which also poses a big challenge to archaeological and cultural conservation experts. They need to work at low temperatures for a long time and carefully identify the silk fabric attached to the wooden figurines bit by bit. The remaining pieces are removed, and then the “silk protein reinforcement” surgery is performed on the remaining pieces using precise techniques and strength.
Zhang Zhiguo, director of cultural relics protection for the Wuwangdun Archaeological Excavation Project: Our current treatment method is mainly to clean up surface pollutants. After cleaning, the areas where the textile is attached are reinforced with silk protein.
Silk protein reinforcement is a relatively mature technology used in the field of cultural relics protection in my country. Its principle is to use the same material as silk fabric cultural relics, silk protein, and a very small amount of additives to strengthen silk fabrics. . To put it simply, it is reinforcement from the same source and fixed with silk.
Zhang Zhiguo, director of cultural relics protection for the Wuwangdun Archaeological Excavation Project: During the cleaning process, silk protein was used to reinforce it and reinforce it in situ to prevent the textiles from cracking and falling off during the drying process. Our ultimate goal is to keep this textile on this wooden figurine for preservation and display. (CCTV News Client)