No sea but olden kings ate seafood
Source: Xinhua |
October 31, 2010, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
ANCIENT emperors in inland China may have dined on seafood that came from the eastern coast more than 1,500 kilometers away, archeologists have said.
According to Hu Songmei, a Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archeology researcher, while investigating an imperial mausoleum "we discovered the remains of sea snails and clams among the animal bone fossils in a burial pit."
"Since the burial pit appears to be that of the official in charge of the emperor's diet, we conclude that seafood must have been part of the imperial menu," Hu said.
The discovery was made at the Hanyang Mausoleum in the ancient capital of Chang'an, today's Xi'an City in Shaanxi Province.
The monument is the joint tomb of Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24) Emperor Jing and his empress. Work at the mausoleum began in the 1980s. Since 1998, researchers from the institute have been excavating the burial pit east of the mausoleum.
Of the 43 animal fossils discovered in the pit, archeologists found more than 18 kinds of animals, including three kinds of sea snails and one kind of clam.
Many royal tombs were designed and constructed like the imperial palace. The burial pits usually represented different departments of the imperial court, Hu said. "The discovery of animal fossils in this particular pit may shed light on what the emperor ate everyday."
Ge Chengyong, chief editor of Chinese Culture Relics Press, said, "The seafood may have been tribute offered to the emperor by imperial family relatives living on the Chinese coast. Businessmen may have also brought them inland to the capital city."
Xi'an is more than 1,500 kiloters away from the Chinese coast, so how could it have arrived in the capital without being spoilt?
"During the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), Chinese people used vehicles with refrigeration," said Ge. "It is thought they may have put ice in the vehicles to preserve perishable cargo."
According to Hu Songmei, a Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archeology researcher, while investigating an imperial mausoleum "we discovered the remains of sea snails and clams among the animal bone fossils in a burial pit."
"Since the burial pit appears to be that of the official in charge of the emperor's diet, we conclude that seafood must have been part of the imperial menu," Hu said.
The discovery was made at the Hanyang Mausoleum in the ancient capital of Chang'an, today's Xi'an City in Shaanxi Province.
The monument is the joint tomb of Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24) Emperor Jing and his empress. Work at the mausoleum began in the 1980s. Since 1998, researchers from the institute have been excavating the burial pit east of the mausoleum.
Of the 43 animal fossils discovered in the pit, archeologists found more than 18 kinds of animals, including three kinds of sea snails and one kind of clam.
Many royal tombs were designed and constructed like the imperial palace. The burial pits usually represented different departments of the imperial court, Hu said. "The discovery of animal fossils in this particular pit may shed light on what the emperor ate everyday."
Ge Chengyong, chief editor of Chinese Culture Relics Press, said, "The seafood may have been tribute offered to the emperor by imperial family relatives living on the Chinese coast. Businessmen may have also brought them inland to the capital city."
Xi'an is more than 1,500 kiloters away from the Chinese coast, so how could it have arrived in the capital without being spoilt?
"During the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), Chinese people used vehicles with refrigeration," said Ge. "It is thought they may have put ice in the vehicles to preserve perishable cargo."
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