Chapter 558

Seeing no one said anything, Professor Wen sighed and said, "Yes, it takes extraordinary courage and firm belief to complete this work.

I hope that in your future studies, you can gain more knowledge to deal with problems and transform this knowledge into confidence and courage in your archaeological work."

Su Miao asked, "Professor Wen, which teacher visited the Zeng State Cemetery this time?"

"He was a comrade from the archaeological team. Because the tomb robbers had dug the hole in a hurry and it was narrow, and this comrade was thin, they decided to let him go down into the tomb first to investigate.

After coming up, this comrade said that the robbery hole was facing the coffin. Although there was a small hole on the coffin, it had not been opened.

The vandals must have taken the cultural relics from the small hole, but because the village chief and villagers arrived quickly and were in a hurry, no significant damage was caused."

"Professor, you haven't told me yet whether this tomb needs to be excavated for protection?" the classmate asked anxiously.

"The design of this tomb is quite unique, making excavation difficult. If the original robbery hole is enlarged, it will inevitably cause new damage to the tomb.

The protective excavation we usually talk about has a prerequisite. The principle is that it can only be carried out under the premise that the tomb chamber has suffered serious damage.

Although the tomb has been damaged, it has not reached the extent that requires excavation, so the current local opinion is to take protective measures on the spot and seal the tomb."

Then, Professor Wen shared with the students some of his experiences in participating in the tomb excavation work. Several students listened attentively and enjoyed it very much.

Afterwards, Su Miao asked Professor Wen why he didn't teach such a meaningful course directly to the entire class, but instead gave special lessons to just a few of them.

Professor Wen laughed heartily and said bluntly, "Because your choices are the most resolute, your convictions are the strongest, and your courage is the greatest! If I were to tell the class directly, I'd probably scare a few students away!"

Su Miao understood instantly that the archaeology major was indeed difficult. He heard from his seniors that in almost every batch, there would be students who applied to change their majors, and it was already very good if twenty people in each class could persist until graduation.

Although Professor Wen seemed to have described in great detail the archaeological team's work on protecting the Zeng Guogong Tomb, Su Miao always felt that he was being reserved.

Many years later, when she visited the retired Professor Wen again, she talked about this practical enlightenment class. Professor Wen then told her about the vision survey that he was not convenient to tell the children at that time.

The archaeologist tied a rope around his waist and entered the underground palace from a hole in the ground. The stench of decay and the smell of explosives in the passage were mixed together, which was very pungent.

The passage became narrower as he went down, and he was stuck at one point and unable to escape. However, when he sent a signal, he found that the rope signal was not working, and no one responded when he called for help upwards.

He had no choice but to continue going down. After finally landing successfully, he heard unexplained noises coming from the side of the coffin while investigating the scene, which made him shudder.

However, his professionalism and firm belief supported him and he completed the investigation despite his fear.

After the survey, the archaeologist pulled the rope and asked his colleagues to pull him up, but there was still no response. He shouted loudly at the bottom of the tunnel, but no one answered.

After a long time, he was finally pulled up by the team members. They were paired on both sides and were surprised.

It turned out that his colleagues above had shouted into the cave shortly after he went down, but there was no response from the bottom of the cave, as if the two sides were invisibly separated.

According to convention, the colleagues above will pull the rope to pull the person up only after the colleagues below give a clear signal.

But this time, time passed by minute by minute, but there was still no signal. The longer his colleagues waited, the more they felt something was wrong, so they made a quick decision and took the initiative to pull him up.

These inexplicable anomalies were also one of the secondary reasons for the final decision to close the tomb.

Considering the students' psychological endurance, Professor Wen did not elaborate on this.

Su Miao looked at Professor Wen, whose hair was gray but he was still energetic, and her respect for him increased a little more.

"Professor, that archaeologist must have been terrified. In all your years of archaeological work, have you ever encountered anything like this? Have you ever been frightened?"

Professor Wen leaned back in his rocking chair, his gaze drifting into the distance, as if lost in memories. After a long while, he slowly spoke:

"Xiao Su, you're definitely afraid. Every time you enter those tombs that have been sealed for years, no one knows what's inside.

But when you stand before the ruins and feel history unfold before your eyes, that sense of mission overcomes all fear.”

At that time, Su Miao was already a successful businessman and did not continue to delve into the archaeological industry.

But she was rich and she kept making money. Every time she went abroad to discuss business, she would take advantage of the opportunity to collect the "pearls" of the motherland scattered overseas.

Some of them were found by chance, and some were purchased at high prices. After passing through layers of checkpoints and bringing them back to the country, she donated them free of charge to the museum where she took her first enlightenment class.

After this extra class, Professor Wen arranged a field archaeology practice class for them in advance.

"Classmates, do you still remember what I told you in class about the Lilihe Ruins, which was designated a nationally protected cultural relic last year?"

"Remember, professor, didn't you say that the excavation area of the site is very large, and the burial area started to be excavated in 1973, and it has not been completed yet?" A classmate quickly raised his hand and answered loudly.

"Yes! It's right there. Every year, students majoring in archaeology at our school go there to conduct field archaeological practice courses.

Normally, this practical course is arranged starting from the sophomore year.

However, this year, I have specially applied for four additional places for you freshmen, so that you can have the opportunity to experience the unique joy of archaeological excavation in advance. Usually, you start in your sophomore year.

It is winter now and the conditions in the wild are quite harsh. If you want to go, you must be mentally prepared.

Our practical course this time lasts for half a month. If it snows, it will end early. Students who want to go please raise your hands and sign up, and then I will screen them."

As someone who often makes big promises, Su Miao automatically translated Professor Wen's words into:

The land is too big! There aren't enough men! We need more cattle and horses!!!

If it were spring or autumn, Su Miao would definitely sign up without hesitation, but... it's so cold today... it seems a bit unbearable for a kid from the south...

Su Miao scratched her head in distress, and Professor Wen, who had been paying attention to her, saw her hand move and immediately shouted in surprise:

"Okay! Classmate Su Miao has taken the lead in signing up. Do the other students have any ideas?"

Su Miao: ??? Professor!! I just haven’t washed my hair for two days, so it’s a little itchy, that’s all!