This ancient underwater tomb is located in Jiangsu, China. It was built more than 2,500 years ago.
The underwater tomb
According to old rumors, there are more than 3,000 rare swords hidden inside the tomb. Although the tomb has many treasures inside, many people who have tried to break in have failed. So whose tomb is this?
This particular tomb belongs to the 24th king of Wu - He Lu. According to Chinese history, Wu was one of the vassals of the Zhou Dynasty during the Spring and Autumn period.
He Lu (514 BC – 496 BC) was an unknown king in history, he reigned for 18 years. The two things he did that are well known are sending assassin Zhuan Zhu to assassinate Wu Liao and then becoming king. The second is appointing Wu Zixu as prime minister, Sun Wu as general, defeating the Chu state.
The tomb of King He Lu lies at the bottom of Sword Lake with more than 3,000 precious swords. (Photo: Sohu)
He Lu was the father of Fu Chai, who defeated Goujian and was later defeated by Goujian. Fu Chai inherited his father's throne, but later died with the destruction of his country.
Fu Chai was very filial to his father. After He Lu passed away, Fu Chai built a tomb at the bottom of a large lake at the foot of Hu Kou Mountain (Suzhou, Jiangsu, China). This lake was later called Sword Lake by the people. This tomb cost a lot of manpower, money and materials. It is said that Fu Chai recruited more than 10 million laborers from all over the country to build it.
Because He Lu was very fond of martial arts and tactics when he was alive, in addition to gold, silver, and jewels, Fu Chai also prepared many precious swords to accompany his father's burial. And that period was the most prosperous period in the history of sword casting. Therefore, He Lu's tomb contained countless legendary swords, so many that they were impossible to count.
The tomb that many people desire
The book Viet Tuyet Thu wrote: “ The tomb of Hap Lu is at the bottom of Kiem Lake, at the foot of Ho Khau Mountain. The water is 1 truong 5 thuoc deep (about 5 meters). The tomb is located very deep at the bottom of the lake. The construction of Hap Lu tomb took 3 years, even using elephants to move the stones.”
According to the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, after He Lu died, his body was buried in the tomb with 3,000 precious swords, some of which were considered unique "divine swords". The two most famous swords in history were Ngu Truong and Mac Ta. They helped He Lu win many victories on his way to becoming a hegemon. Because of these precious swords, many people intended to dig up He Lu's grave to find them, including many famous people such as Qin Thuy Hoang, Xiang Yu, Viet Vuong Cau Tien or Duong Ba Ho, but all had to return empty-handed.
Swords from the Spring and Autumn Period were found still as sharp as new. (Photo: Sohu)
King Goujian of Yue was the first to seek He Lu's tomb. From Shandong, he excavated the tomb of his lifelong enemy Fu Chai. But for some unknown reason, Goujian could not find He Lu's tomb, so he had no choice but to return.
The book “Nguyen Hoa Quan Huyen Chi” by the historian and prime minister of the Tang Dynasty named Ly Cat Phu recorded that in 219 BC, Qin Thuy Hoang came to Suzhou (in present-day Jiangsu province) and ordered his soldiers to dig up the grave of Ngo Ha Lu to find the treasured sword. According to Ly Cat Phu’s record, “Thuy Hoang ordered people to dig up the mountain to find Ha Lu’s grave, but after digging for a long time they could not find it and had to return.”
Later, Xiang Yu heard that He Lu's tomb contained the universe, so he also wanted to invade to establish a great cause. Like Qin Shi Huang, Xiang Yu could not break into the tomb.
It was not until the Ming Dynasty (1491-1521) that one of the “Four Great Talents of Jiangnan”, Tang Bohu, almost broke into He Lu’s tomb. At that time, Suzhou was hit by a drought, causing the lake around He Lu’s tomb to dry up, revealing signs of a tomb. Tang Bohu immediately called people to prepare for excavation, but unexpectedly at the crucial moment, he was stopped by the government. Thus, He Lu’s tomb once again escaped the hands of those who wanted to break in.
Tiger Stupa - symbol of Suzhou. (Photo: Sohu)
In 1955, a group of experts used pumps to drain the lake. They found many writings left by Tang Bohu and other famous people. The experts believed that the relics should be protected and no further excavations were carried out.
In 1978, a group of archaeologists decided to excavate the He Lu tomb once again. When they discovered the triangular cave entrance, something unexpected happened. After breaking down the entrance, they discovered three huge stone slabs blocking the path. Above these stone slabs was the Tiger's Mouth Tower - the symbol of Suzhou.
After careful consideration, the destruction of these three stone slabs would affect the Tiger's Mouth Tower, so the experts were forced to stop the excavation of He Lu's tomb. To this day, experts have not been able to find a suitable way to enter He Lu's tomb. This is a great regret for Chinese archaeologists.
Quoc Thai (Source: Sohu)
Useful
Emotion
Creative
Unique
Source
Comment (0)