Login
Lost Password?
No account yet? Register

Welcome

Taphophilia (dot) Com...
A repository of morbid curiosities:
Thanatology and Taphophile Issues, Cemetery,
Funeral Industry and Death Related News.

What's at Taph?

Taphophilia Home
Thanatology Forums
Taphophile Weblinks
Taph's Article Archive
Taphophilia Library
Donating to Taphophilia
Contact Deadgirl

Deadgirl Recommends

Advertisement

Dig Deeper

Literature
Topics at Taphophilia
Deadgirl's Dictionary
Cemetery Photography
Carved in Stone

Cemetery Snapshot

vacancy.jpg.jpg

What's New at Arcadia

Historic Burial Grounds of the New Hampshire Seacoast By Glenn A. Knoblock

Arcadia Publishing has releases a new title in the Images of America series, the historic account of the cemeteries along the New Hampshire Seacoast. This collection is a must for anyone interested in local history, genealogy, or colonial-era art. Please visit Arcadia Publishing to purchase your copy of Historic Burial Grounds of the New Hampshire Seacoast and browse other cemetery books!

Green-Wood Cemetery By Alexandra Mosca

Arcadia Publishing announces the release of the historic account of one of New York's most famous cemeteries. Aracdia Publishing's Images of America series has an extensive catalog of many cemetery publications! Please visit Arcadia Publishing to purchase your copy of Green-Wood Cemetery.

Announcements

Quoting Death in Early Modern England: The Poetics of Epitaphs Beyond the Tomb By Scott L. Newstok

An innovative study of the Renaissance practice of making epitaphic gestures within other English genres. A poetics of quotation uncovers the ways in which writers including Shakespeare, Marlowe, Holinshed, Sidney, Jonson, Donne, and Elizabeth I have recited these texts within new contexts. Visit Palgrave Macmillan and purchase your copy today!

Living by the Dead By Ellen Ashdown with illustrations by Mary Liz Moody.

A memoir about living beside a cemetery--and about the members of my family who came to rest at Roselawn Cemetery in Tallahassee, Florida. Please visit Kitsune Books for more information.

Graveyards of Chicago: The People, History, Art, and Lore of Cook County Cemeteries By Matt Hucke And Ursula Bielski.

Discover a Chicago That Exists Just Beneath the Surface - About Six Feet Under! Take a tour of Chicago's permanent residents! Please visit the Lake Claremont Press website to purchase your copy of Graveyards of Chicago today!

Epitaphs: The Magazine for Cemetery Lovers By Cemetery Lovers

For information regarding subscriptions, single issues, submission guidelines, deadlines, classifieds or advertising for future issues, please visit The Cemetery Club.

Guardians of the Soul: Angels and Innocents, Mourners and Saints with photography by John Bower and foreword by Claude Cookman

Indiana's remarkable cemetery sculpture is now available. Please visit Studio Indiana for more information.

West Springfield Massachusetts: Stories Carved in Stone by Rusty Clark

Features information on early New England gravestone carvers with more than two hundred photos and illustrations. Please visit the Dog Pond Press website.

Modern technology helps survey imperial tomb PDF Print E-mail
Written by DeadGirl   
Thursday, 24 June 2004
By Ma Lie (China Daily)
June 24, 2004

Archaeologists at one of China's most significant archaeological sites are learning more by digging less.

Scientists prospecting the relics under the Mausoleum of the First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BC) are using advanced technology to protect buried relics. "Instead of surveying underground relics by applying long and narrow shovels, we use remote sensing technology to investigate the covered relics," said archaeologist Duan Qingbo.

"The methods indicates the time for large scale harmless dig for covered relics under the Qin emperor's tomb," said Duan, who works with the Shaanxi Provincial Archaeology Research Institute and is head of the archaeological team at the tomb.

The ruins around the tomb are about 60 square kilometres. There are more than 600 remains and some 50,000 relics have been unearthed.

"The tomb is in front of the mountain and covered with a large amount of sand and stones placed here by floods in the last 2,000 years," he said.

"There are also villages, factories and schools with more than 6,000 people living in the tomb area. So it is very difficult to survey the area with traditional methods."

The site can not be properly protected without a clear understanding of what is buried in the area.

Archaeologists estimate that it would take some 200 years, using traditional methods, to survey the entire area.

So, in 2002, the Ministry of Science and Technology developed a plan to use remote sensing technology.

"In 2003, the remote sensing survey made a number of great discoveries, which showed us the exact location, size and depth of the underground palace of the mausoleum.

"We learnt much about the palace's building materials, inner structures, drainage system and walls around it."

The result was a more thorough understanding of what was underground without doing any actual digging.

"It has great significance for ancient relics and ruin research and protection, especially for ancient ruins and tombs which are not suitable to be excavated at present," Duan said.

With further development, remote sensing survey technology will play a more important role in research and investigation on the Qin tomb area. Combined with traditional measures which provide exact and detailed information, Chinese archaeologists will get a complete picture of the tomb in the near future, Duan said.

The mausoleum is located some 20 kilometres east of Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi Province. The Qin Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses Museum is nearby. It is one of the most important national protection units and one of the most popular tourism destinations in China.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-06/24/content_341942.htm

 
< Prev   Next >
[ Back ]