2005年年底，河南省安阳市安阳县安丰乡西高穴村一座大墓被盗掘。消息传出后，引起了河南省文物考古研究所（今河南省文物考古研究院)潘伟斌研究员的关注。他立即前往实地调查，结果发现，该墓葬为一座东汉末期王侯级的大型墓葬，结合史料记载，判断其极有可能和曹操高陵有关，甚至就是曹操墓。此后，该墓葬又接连多次被盗，为了抢救地下文化遗产，经请示河南省文物局和国家文物局，2008年12月，我院成立考古队，进驻被盗墓地现场，对该墓进行抢救性发掘。经过一年多的发掘和紧张工作，至2009年年底，发掘出大量珍贵文物，寻找到了认定该墓葬为曹操墓的关键证据。

该发现引起了国家文物局的高度重视，2009年12月13日，国家文物局组织各方面专家，成立专家组，对该墓葬进行综合论证。会上大家一致认为，安阳西高穴二号大墓（M2)就是魏武王曹操的陵墓，从而破解了这一学术界的千古之谜。2009年12月27日，河南省文物局在北京召开新闻发布会，发布了这一重大消息。曹操高陵被考古发现的消息一经公布，立即在社会上引起了巨大轰动和热烈反响，也引起了人们的极大关注，在学术界激起了对三国文化的新一轮研究热潮，但也引起了一些人的质疑。

引起这种质疑的原因是多方面的。一方面是因为一般群众对考古基础知识欠缺，对科学考古的过程缺乏了解，缺乏判断能力；另一方面是由于曹操墓相关历史资料相对贫乏，人们对文献不熟悉，受到相关曹操墓的历史传说的影响而引起误会，甚至有的学者古今地理知识欠缺，引起判断失误，更存在有地方利益的纷争，由于受到当前大的社会风气影响，过分追逐名利，看重其蕴藏的社会效益，甚至有人出于其他目的，借此故意炒作，故意误导群众，加上一些媒体记者缺乏社会责任感，为了赚取眼球，不负责任，故意寻找新闻点而进行歪曲报道。因此负面新闻不断，一时间，诸多疑问潮水般向我们涌来，让我们应接不暇，压力很大。

但是，更多人关心的是确认该处两座墓葬（M1和M2)为曹操高陵的相关证据。他们热切地希望知道曹操高陵到底有何重大发现，是不是和所记载的历史文献相符；为什么会在安阳县西高穴村发现，其位置与故邺城有何关系，是不是有文献资料做支撑；它又是如何被发现的，我们的发掘过程又是怎样的，是不是科学的；它的发现对学术界有何影响，具有怎样重要的学术价值；等等。

曹操墓的社会影响和它在学术界引起的反响超出了我们的想象，自消息公布后的几年里，先后有数万人前来参观，全国各地的考古学专家和历史学家纷至沓来，对曹操墓进行考察和交流学习，各种论证会不断。可以说，曹操墓经历了全国所有考古项目中最严格的审查，得到了业界高度认可，因此，曹操墓的发现是科学可靠的，其结论毋庸置疑。

由于曹操墓经历过多次被盗，文物损坏严重，经过我们几年的整理，修复出土文物上千件，具备了向大家系统汇报的条件，因此，在这里我们向读者做一详细报告。需要说明的是，本书所言“高陵”，均指M1和M2；所言“曹操墓”，则专指M2。

At the end of 2005, a large tomb was stolen and excavated in Xigao Cave Village, Anfeng Township, Anyang County, Anyang City, Henan Province. After the news came out, it attracted the attention of Pan Weibin, a researcher at the Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology (now the Henan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology). He immediately went to the field to investigate, and found that the tomb was a large tomb at the level of a prince at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and combined with historical records, it was judged that it was most likely related to Cao Cao's high tomb, or even Cao Cao's tomb. In December 2008, an archaeological team was set up by our institute to enter the site of the stolen cemetery and conduct rescue excavations of the tomb. After more than a year of excavation and intensive work, by the end of 2009, a large number of precious cultural relics were excavated, and key evidence was found to identify the tomb as the tomb of Cao Cao. On December 13, 2009, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage organized experts from various fields to set up an expert group to conduct a comprehensive demonstration of the tomb. At the meeting, everyone agreed that the tomb No. 2 (M2) of Xigao Cave in Anyang was the tomb of Cao Cao, the king of Weiwu, thus solving this ancient mystery of academia. On December 27, 2009, the Henan Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau held a press conference in Beijing to release this important news. As soon as the news of the archaeological discovery of Cao Cao Gaoling was announced, it immediately caused a huge sensation and enthusiastic response in the society, and also aroused great attention from people, which stimulated a new round of research on the culture of the three kingdoms in the academic circles, but also caused some people to question. The reasons for this questioning are manifold. On the one hand, it is because the general public lacks basic knowledge of archaeology, lacks understanding of the process of scientific archaeology, and lacks judgment ability; On the other hand, due to the relative lack of historical materials related to Cao Cao's tomb, people are not familiar with the literature, and misunderstanding is caused by the influence of the historical legends of Cao Cao's tomb, and even some scholars lack knowledge of ancient and modern geography, resulting in errors in judgment, and there are disputes with local interests, due to the influence of the current social atmosphere, excessive pursuit of fame and fortune, and value its hidden social benefits, and even some people for other purposes, so as to deliberately hype, deliberately mislead the masses, coupled with some media reporters lack social responsibility, in order to earn eyeballs, Responsible, deliberately looking for news points and distorting reports. Therefore, the negative news continued, and for a while, many questions flooded us, making us overwhelmed and stressful. However, more people are concerned about the evidence confirming that the two tombs (M1 and M2) at the site are Cao Cao's tombs. They eagerly wanted to know what major discoveries made by Cao Cao Gaoling and whether they were consistent with the recorded historical documents; Why is it found in Xigao Cave Village, Anyang County, what is the relationship between its location and the old Ye City, and whether it is supported by documentary materials; How it was discovered, what was our excavation process, and whether it was scientific; what impact its findings have on the academic community and what important academic value they have; Wait a minute. The social impact of Cao Cao's tomb and the repercussions it caused in academia are beyond our imagination, and in the years since the news was announced, tens of thousands of people have come to visit, and archaeologists and historians from all over the country have come to investigate and exchange studies on Cao Cao's tomb. It can be said that the tomb of Cao Cao has undergone the strictest review of all archaeological projects in the country and has been highly recognized by the industry, so the discovery of Cao Cao's tomb is scientific and reliable, and its conclusions are beyond doubt. Because the tomb of Cao Cao has been stolen many times and the cultural relics are seriously damaged, after several years of sorting, thousands of cultural relics have been restored and unearthed, and there are conditions for systematic reporting to everyone, so here we will make a detailed report to the readers. It should be noted that the "Gaoling" mentioned in this book refers to M1 and M2; The "tomb of Cao Cao" refers specifically to M2.（AI翻译）