China unearths 100 more terracotta warriors
13th June 2012
As the dig at Xi'an mausoleum progresses, archaeologists unveil their latest findings adding more than 100 soldiers to the terracotta army
China's renowned terracotta army has received more than 100 new additions following an unveiling of the latest discoveries at the Xi'an mausoleum dig site. Archaeologists are currently in the third wave of excavations since the site was discovered in 1974, during which time more than 8,000 soldiers have been uncovered.
The warriors were built for China's First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang by some 700,000 convicts over a period of 38 years. The figures stood guard in the outer chambers of the imperial tomb but were damaged in what is thought to have been a revenge attack by the leader of the rebellion, Xiang Yu, in the third century BC.
Having gained entry to the mausoleum, “Xiang and his soldiers then stole weapons from inside and smashed many Terracotta warriors. After that, they set fire to the chambers,” explained Shen Maosheng, the head of the archaeological team working on the current excavation.
Most significant to this period of the dig, is the discovery of well preserved relics, which have maintained much of their colour and decoration. Eight of the figures are thought to be officials, according to Xu Weihong, executive director of the excavation team. They are noticeably more complicated and hold more delicately detailed armour than that of the rank-and-file soldiers. There are some with black and taupe eyeballs and one even had eyelashes painted on.
Of the relics found during this phase of the excavation, which began in 2009, archaeologists have found war horses, two sets of chariots, weapons, drums and a shield alongside the soldiers, but it is thought that this is only a fraction of those still uncovered.
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