The first page of Sima Qian's Shiji (source: Wikimedia Commons)
Update: April 2015
From The Guardian today: 'An archaeologist has discovered liquid mercury at the end of a tunnel
beneath a Mexican pyramid, a finding that could suggest the existence of
a king’s tomb or a ritual chamber far below one of the most ancient
cities of the Americas.' It's fascinating that a similar idea was in use on the other side of the world. Apparently the ancient Mesoamericans could produce liquid mercury by heating
mercury ore (cinnabar) which they also used for its blood-red
pigment. According to Annabeth Headreck, an expert on central American art, the mercury “could be a sort of river, albeit a pretty spectacular one.” Shiny and scintillating materials seem to have been particularly important: many ritual objects were made reflective with mica and in 2013 'archaeologists using a robot found metallic spheres
which they dubbed “disco balls” in an un-excavated portion of the
tunnel, near pyrite mirrors. “I wish I could understand all the things
these guys are finding down there,” Headrick said, “but it’s unique and
that’s why it’s hard.”'
I went on a trip to China and it is a proven fact that there are rivers of mercury. They don't want to open up the tombs because then mercury would be released on the villages nearby because the mercury is probably all evaporated by now.
ReplyDeleteThat's a bit silly. The boiling point of mercury is over 300 degrees celsius. It shouldn't have been able to evaporate. If the heat had been enough for it to evaporate, the gas would fill the chamber but during the colder times of the year, it would condense again and refill the rivers.
ReplyDeleteBecause water never evaporates under 100 degrees Celsius, ever, because nothing can ever evaporate underneath it's boiling point
ReplyDelete