https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-023-04438-8
Regular Article
Mechanisms of formation and change in grass-wrapped-mud traces at the Laohuling Dam site in Liangzhu, China
1
Department of Cultural Heritage and Museology, Zhejiang University, 310028, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China
2
Hangzhou Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City World Heritage Monitoring and Management Center, 311115, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China
3
Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, 310027, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China
c
zhangbiji@zju.edu.cn
d
hu_yulan@zju.edu.cn
Received:
28
May
2023
Accepted:
1
September
2023
Published online:
19
September
2023
Roughly 5000 years ago, the Laohuling Dam was constructed in Liangzhu using a grass-wrapped-mud technique commonly used in waterfront construction at this time. We conducted our observation and sample collection at the Laohuling Dam site in order to better understand the mechanisms underlying the formation and transformation of grass-wrapped-mud traces. Our analytical approach involved a suite of techniques including scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM–EDS), pyrolysis–gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS), tetramethylammonium hydroxide pyrolysis–gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (TMAH-Py-GC/MS), and micro-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (Micro-FTIR). Our results indicated that the grass component of the grass-wrapped-mud traces underwent carbonization and humification within the soil, resulting in a complex mixture. Of the three main components found grass, which are cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, it was mainly the lignin residues that were detected in the trace samples. At the scene, we observed two types of traces: black and white. We suggested that the original, black-colored traces may have been oxidized to form the white-colored traces observed today. Furthermore, we examined potential causes of grass-wrapped-mud trace deterioration, hoping to provide valuable information for the preservation of these significant cultural relics.
Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-023-04438-8.
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© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Società Italiana di Fisica and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2023. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
