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墨書 Inktalez
Not long after, Captain Zhou arrived.
He forcefully inserted his hand into the gap between the Stone Sphere and the ground but couldn't get it in. The Sediment Layer was much more solid than the Wet Sand Layer above. "There might be something below, possibly a stone pillar or tower," Captain Zhou said while calling for the soldiers to retrieve tools from the Dump. "Let's first check what's down there."
I nodded and took out the Probe Shovel and Connecting Rod from the toolbox he brought, quickly assembling them. Centered around the Stone Sphere, Captain Zhou identified several points, and we began our probing.
During my first probe, I felt something just over a meter down. At that moment, I was certain we were about to uncover a mystery.
The deepest probe only reached just over five meters before I sensed something. To avoid damaging anything underground, we didn't dig too many probes and instead left this team of Engineers behind at the Excavation Pit.
Squad Leader Liu took the soldiers back to the camp to stand by, while Captain Zhou went to report to command. I headed to the Campsite to prepare more tools. Such a large Test Pit couldn't be handled by just one or two people. Although Captain Zhou hadn't mentioned it, I could estimate that other Archaeology team members would be dispatched to assist in excavating this Excavation Pit. The upcoming work would undoubtedly be exceptionally arduous; we wouldn't just supervise the soldiers scraping dirt anymore; these tasks would fall on us.
After organizing the tools, I managed to steal a quick nap. In the afternoon, I was called up for a meeting at command. All three team leaders from the Archaeology team were present. Based on the situation of that Test Pit, the Archaeology team decided to dispatch three more Archaeology members for joint excavation, with the main focus of the meeting being which Test Pit to abandon. This was because all Archaeology team members involved in this project had Test Pits they were overseeing; pulling them away would mean halting work on their respective Test Pits.
The discussion wasn't particularly difficult; only those with the slowest progress and least yield would be abandoned, so a decision was reached quickly. However, even so, it would be challenging to completely excavate this Test Pit before the end of the year. Commander Number Seven found this unacceptable and proposed a plan to speed up progress by having Engineers continue assisting with excavation.
Our reaction to this proposal was unanimous: it was unacceptable. This work required professional skills; although it involved digging soil, someone who planted corn wouldn't be able to handle this task without messing it up.
Clearly, we had significant differences regarding the ultimate goal of this project. Commander One scoffed at our perspective on protecting ancient sites and Cultural Relics. However, on this issue, all three Archaeology team leaders were very insistent. After some heated arguments, a compromise was reached: non-priority excavation would be handled by Engineers.
As a result, more Probe Shovels would need to be used to avoid missing anything and causing damage to Cultural Relics. After the meeting, Archaeology team members assigned to my Test Pit concentrated on excavating in the Excavation Pit and began intensive probing. This had one advantage: it allowed us to create a more detailed underground structure map.
Secondly, Captain Zhou, Captain Xiao, and two other Archaeology team members entered the Excavation Pit together with ten Engineers. According to Escape Pod seating arrangements, a maximum of sixteen people could work in this Excavation Pit. The last spot was taken by a Liaison Officer from command whose main job was to maintain contact with command at all times, report work progress, and coordinate between the Archaeology team and Engineers. After yesterday's disputes, command's attitude towards the Archaeology team had changed; although they didn't believe that the Archaeology team would intentionally delay progress, it was highly likely that they could inadvertently affect it.
The site was somewhat chaotic as we designated several work areas for the Engineer team, each marked with the allowed digging depth. Our five-member Archaeology team focused on the points closest to the surface where Cultural Relics or ruins were located. Captain Zhou and I were responsible for the exposed Stone Sphere.
The Stone Sphere was fully revealed, and as expected, there was more beneath it. It turned out to be a massive Stone Carving.
By the end of November, a significant portion of the Stone Carving had been uncovered. Although we had yet to see its entirety, it was clear that it was a stone pillar. From the exposed section, the pillar appeared circular with a diameter of sixty centimeters. The spherical top likely represented the sun, while the surface of the pillar was intricately carved with images of humans and monsters, seemingly categorized by rank or type. Both humans and animals looked up at the sphere atop the pillar, their expressions and postures varied—some showed fear, others solemnity, and some gazed devoutly.
However, the carvings on the top layer were perplexing. This layer depicted four human faces representing four emotions: joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. Interestingly, these faces did not look upward but were slightly bowed. Despite their differing expressions, it was evident that they portrayed the same individual, suggesting a representation of four states of one person. The design of this stone pillar was already enigmatic; before it was fully unearthed, we had not focused our efforts on studying its carvings nor did we expect to immediately understand its actual purpose and significance.
The craftsmanship of this stone pillar was remarkable. Having been buried underground for thousands of years, its surface bore many signs of erosion; yet, the sculptures of humans and animals remained vivid and expressive. Captain Zhou and I shared a consensus that this was a Totem Pillar representing the object of worship at this site: the sun. Of course, whether our judgment was correct or not was not crucial at this stage; it was merely an initial impression that would not affect future assessments.
At the same time, others made different discoveries. Not far from us, Captain Xiao Guolin unearthed a section of Brick Wall—an Azure Brick Wall—partially covered with Azure Tile. This discovery caused quite a stir; if this site correlated with previously unearthed Cultural Relics as part of an Archaeological timeline, it could significantly advance the dating of Brick usage.
Due to the rapid progress in this Excavation Pit, it had left other Test Pits far behind. The command center held an expanded meeting and ultimately decided to concentrate efforts on excavating this Excavation Pit while temporarily abandoning the other Test Pits. This approach might allow us to thoroughly clear this Test Pit before the windy season arrived and reach a preliminary conclusion.
After the meeting concluded, all Archaeology team members set aside their current tasks to focus on my Test Pit. Captain Zhou freed himself from strenuous physical labor; he became the only member among all Archaeology personnel not working in the Excavation Pit. Given his age and physical condition, he indeed wasn't suited for such heavy work. Moreover, as more relics were gradually unearthed, it became inappropriate for Engineers to continue their rough excavation methods; their primary role shifted from digging to transporting and cleaning.
At that moment, there were sixteen personnel in the Excavation Pit: ten Archaeology team members, five Engineers, and one Coordinator from the command center.
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