The jade articles buried with ancient people are obviously very valuable, but why do some ancient tomb robbers dare not touch them?

It is said that gold and silver are valuable and jade is priceless, but when ancient tomb robbers encountered jade objects in ancient tombs, they basically would not take them out easily. This is really puzzling. First of all, jade is not only small in size and light in weight, but if the material and carving are high-quality, the price it can be sold for is definitely higher than that of gold and silver. Don't these tomb robbers know the goods?

When archaeologists opened the tomb of Prince Jing in Zhongshan, they were very sorry to see the messy scene inside. Because tomb robbers had arrived early, this ancient tomb has lost many cultural relics worthy of research. But after searching carefully, they found many neatly shaped jade pieces. Later they found out that they were the remaining pieces after the gold threads were removed from the jade garment. Coincidentally, in the tomb of Chu King Liu Wu, archaeologists found well-preserved jade cups and jade bis, but other grave objects were taken away by tomb robbers.

The tomb robbers actually had their own considerations in not stealing jade. The most important point was that jade was a symbol of the dignitaries at that time, and the poor were not allowed to wear it at will. Most of the jade articles buried with the owners of these tombs were carved into corresponding patterns according to their identities, and the popular carving techniques in each era were different. Archaeologists can even The shape, carving, and texture of the jade can also determine the age of the tomb, and even the level of royalty or officials.

Take the Zhou Dynasty as an example. At that time, only the emperor of Zhou had the privilege of wearing real jade, and other nobles had no right to use it; in the Tang Dynasty, only officials of third rank or above were qualified to use jade belts. If tomb thieves steal these jade artifacts, connoisseurs will be able to tell at a glance who and where they came from. In this way, the tomb robber is likely to be exposed, and maybe even caught by the government. In addition, there are class restrictions on the wearing of jade, and there are relatively few people who can be sold by tomb robbers. Naturally, these princes and ministers also have money to buy new jade. Who would be willing to wear a piece of jade and accompany the dead underground for so many years? Where's the jade?

Although jade is valuable, it is not hard currency on the market. It cannot be melted and cast, and it is too difficult to sell it. In comparison, gold, silver, and even iron and bronze wares are much more convenient. As long as you find an accomplice who knows how to cast gold and melt them, there will be no evidence.

So even if the tomb robbers drag them out with great effort, these jade articles are not marketable and they cannot wear them to show off. They can hide them at home to collect and appreciate them at any time, and they have to worry about leaking them at any time. Therefore, these ancient tomb robbers basically would not take jade out of the tomb, but modern tomb robbers are different. They take whatever they can, and they can sell it to foreigners who have no taboos anyway!