This is Where the Imperial Coffin is Placed
Just past the imperial throne is a large chamber called the Rear Chamber. For something this large, it has to contain something more important – and it does. The actual tomb itself is here. Interestingly, there are large wooden boxes that are lined up here. The boxes are long and red. These house the coffins of the emperor and the empresses. The emperor’s coffin is in the middle while the empresses coffins are on each side of the emperors.
Detail of a Door in the Ding Tomb 定陵
When the Ding Tomb was first opened, it was suddenly exposed to the elements and the wooden boxes deteriorated rapidly. The ones which are on display here are only replicas of the original. It was a shame that they weren’t taken cared of, but it has served the archeologists important lessons in excavating other sites. The Rear Chamber was quite creepy since this was where the coffins were located. Add the fact that there weren’t a lot of tourists dropping by here only adds to the creepiness.
[xmlgm {http://www.worldwanderings.net/kml/DingTomb.kmz} zoom=19]