Teeth may solve 2,000-year-old mystery
Print Edition
ARCHEOLOGISTS have found the teeth of Liu He, the controversial Chinese emperor deposed and stripped of his nobility after just 27 days in office, but later made a marquis.
The new discovery from the remains of the “Marquis of Haihun” may help solve the mystery of his death, said experts attending an international archeological symposium in Nanchang, capital of east China’s Jiangxi Province.
The remains were found in a coffin from a 2,000-year-old tomb historians have thought to be his last resting place since the site was discovered near Nanchang, five years ago.
In January, the coffin was taken to a laboratory for examination. A seal inside bore the characters for Liu He, the marquis’ name, helping to confirm his identity.
Earlier, excavators had found another seal with the characters for “Seal of Master Liu,” and his identity was also confirmed by inscriptions on gold coins and bamboo slips inside the tomb.
Progress of work at the tomb has been under the spotlight since it is the best-preserved example of its age found in China, and the condition of the remains had not been revealed earlier.
Researchers told the symposium that a large number of teeth had been found.
The cause of Liu’s death may be uncovered following a DNA test, said Yang Jun, researcher at Jiangxi’s archeological research institute.
Archeologists and experts from more than 20 universities and research institutions at home and abroad attended the symposium themed on the excavation of the tomb and studies on the Qin (221-206 BC) and Han (206 BC-AD 220) dynasties.
Liu He was the grandson of Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 25) Emperor Wu, whose reign ushered in one of the most prosperous periods in Chinese history.
According to historical records, he was born in 92 BC and became the Prince of Changyi (in today’s Shandong Province) at the age of 5, when his father died.
He was given the role of emperor in 74 BC, after his uncle, Emperor Zhao, died without an heir.
Liu’s rise to power may have been swift, but his demise was even swifter. Accusing Liu of incompetence, the royal clan worked with powerful officials to banish him to Changyi to live as a commoner.
Several years later Liu was made the Marquis of Haihun, but he died less than five years after that.
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