The archaeologist's eyes bulged as he excitedly shouted, "Come quick, there's a discovery here!"
The voice emanated from the pit, immediately alarming those on the ground.
"What have you found?"
Director Su Yu was the first to lean over and ask loudly.
"I... I've hit a layer of stone bricks!" the archaeologist immediately replied, his voice slightly out of breath.
Director Su Yu's eyes lit up, and a smile quickly spread across his face: "We've found it, we really have found it!"
Qin Sisi was very invested in the project, and she too leaned over, efficiently using a shovel to clear the soil beside the stone bricks, revealing several more of them.
"It's really here!"
She stopped her motion, swallowed saliva, and murmured softly to herself.
The appearance of the stone bricks undoubtedly confirmed Lin Chuan's judgment was entirely correct.
"Director, how should we continue digging?"
Qin Sisi collected herself and looked to Su Yu to ask.
At this moment, the archaeological expert Old Lu volunteered eagerly, wanting to show off his skills, and said, "Director, let me take charge of the digging from here, I'm familiar with this."
"Old Lu, I know you're anxious, but don't be hasty," the director said, raising his hand to signal patience.
After that, he quickly walked to Lin Chuan, his face full of joy, giving a thumbs-up: "Comrade Lin, you certainly have a discerning eye!"
"Just luck," Lin Chuan replied modestly.
This was his first time in reality, using the "Dragon-Seeking and Positioning + Observation, Listening, Inquiry, Pulse Taking" method to determine the location of the Ancient Tomb, and so far, the results seemed not bad – he had actually located an Ancient Tomb.
It seems there's something true about the Touching Gold Secret Skill.
"Next, where should we dig?"
Director Su Yu was not without opinions, but now he felt it was necessary to consult Lin Chuan.
After hearing the question, Lin Chuan looked up at the mountain's terrain, made an approximate judgment in his mind, then smiled and said, "Based on the two artifacts seen in the heritage preservation workshop, and the fact that someone is buried in this geomantic treasure spot, the master of this tomb must have held a high status, at the very least a governor of a prefecture."
"Comrade Lin's reasoning is good," Director Su Yu nodded in agreement.
"In the study of geomancy, if one considers the direction of the mountain range, that place is the Dragon Head," Lin Chuan pointed to a mountain peak: "On that side is the Dragon Tail, and this spot is on the Dragon's Ridge. The design of this Ancient Tomb should be head facing north, feet facing south, which also aligns with the characteristics of Han Dynasty tomb chambers.
Therefore, if we want to conduct a protective excavation, we should dig southwards, entering from the tail or side of the tomb."
"That's what I was thinking as well," said archaeological expert Old Lu, pursing his lips and muttering to himself.
However, he was obviously feeling outshined.
Now, Director Su Yu had eyes only for Lin Chuan.
Following Lin Chuan's 'head north, feet south' direction, they started digging towards the south side to find the tomb entrance.
The biggest difference between archaeology and tomb robbing is that archaeology is protective excavation, while tomb robbing is destructive excavation.
The latter is a one-time affair, with robbers fleeing with their treasures.
If it were Lin Chuan,
In the Virtual World, he wouldn't care for such distinctions; he would simply drill a hole, break through the stone-brick tomb, take the items, and call it a day.
But, this was the real world.
Archaeological excavation, being protective, required more considerations.
With an increasing number of archaeologists, the speed of excavation quickened, and after a little more than two hours, the facade of an Ancient Tomb was presented before everyone.
This was a typical underground brick chamber tomb from the Western Han Dynasty, which by its appearance belonged to a noble from the ancient Lingnan region.
As Lin Chuan said,
The entrance to the tomb was indeed on the southern side.
At the entrance, a huge greyish-green rock stained with dirt blocked everyone's way.
Besides this entrance, there were no others.
After the archaeologists had cleaned up the boulder,
Lin Chuan looked up and noticed animal patterns carved on the rock, resembling a white tiger, meant to guard the tomb chamber.
At the tiger's mouth area, there were two small holes, which had already been cleared of dirt.
"Bring the cutter over!"
Seeing this, the excited archaeological expert Old Lu immediately shouted out.
It was finally time for him to enter his element and show his prowess!
Time to enter the tomb!
For the modern Archaeological Team, tools like cutters and drills are common.
Arriving at a tomb door that can't be opened, they bring out tools and start to cut through.
It saves time and effort.
Once inside the tomb chamber, the subsequent work becomes much simpler.
The archaeologists immediately handed Old Lu a handheld stone cutter.
At this point,
Old Lu looked at Lin Chuan with a smile and said, "Comrade Lin, although the location of the tomb is superb, when it comes to entering the tomb, you still need to rely on the skills of us old-timers. Wait and watch how I use this stone cutter; it's a technical job, and you might find this useful in the future too."
Lin Chuan glanced at the handheld stone cutter, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly: "Expert Lu, is that really necessary?"
"If not this, then what?"
Old Lu was originally set to show off to Lin Chuan, but upon hearing Lin Chuan's response, he immediately furrowed his brow.
"What if we're in the field without this cutter? Wouldn't we then be unable to enter the tomb?" Lin Chuan retorted.
This felt akin to certain big 'clinics.'
Standard procedure before seeing a doctor is to have blood tests, get a CT scan, and an ultrasound, otherwise there's no treatment available.
Experts like Old Lu are similar.
Without modern equipment like cutters, they're just left staring blankly.
Clearly, Anling City's Archaeological Team did not possess the professionalism of a national team and lacked many of the more specialized traditional techniques in the field of archaeology.

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