Posted on 10/20/2005 1:13:28 PM PDT by blam
Tomb scan reveals buried treasure
Thursday, October 20, 2005; Posted: 1:02 a.m. EDT (05:02 GMT)
Some of the terra cotta soldier statues found around Qin's tomb.
BEIJING, China (AP) -- A magnetic scan of the unopened tomb of China's first emperor has detected a large number of coins, suggesting Emperor Qin was buried with his state treasury, a news report said Thursday.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
GGG Ping
It's not doing the emporer any good. Let's get it!
It's kind of amazing that China still hasn't opened the tomb after all these years.
Anyone know any more on this?
Id like to see robbers from Taiwan dig it up and take the loot to Taiwan.
And, they say you can't take it with you ...
LOL
Tell them to use that to fund themselves and give our money back.
Personally I think they're afraid of supernatural forces. If it was purely physical dangers that concerned then they would have simply sacrificed some prison inmates to get inside.
Where is Indiana Jones when you need him?
Legend has it that the sarcophagus itself is surrounded by a lake of mercury.
"Shi Huangdi and the Qin Dynasty are most known for the unification of China under one ruler, and the extraordinary Terra-Cotta Warriors. Shi Huangdi felt that he needed a little protection in the afterlife, so an exact replica of the current army was to be recreated in clay, including horses, chariots, all ranks, and real weapons (Clarke 1). Three additional pits have been excavated since the first one, which was found in 1974 by some Chinese peasants digging a well, probably one of the most important archaeological discoveries ever (Clarke 1). The array of figures is incredibly complex and detailed. Over eight thousand warriors have been uncovered, but that is thought to be only one sixth of the total number of warriors (Clarke 1). The first pit contains six thousand Terra-Cotta Warriors made down to the last detail of Huangdi’s actual army (Kellerhals 1). Each warrior is wearing combat clothing and most are holding weapons. Each rank of the army has a specific uniform, and all uniforms were painted either green or red, colors that have long faded or been washed off (Kellerhals 1). The armor of each warrior was also painted either black or brown (Kellerhals 1). All of the warrior’s heads and hands were removable, showing researchers that these parts of the figures were crafted separately from the bodies and much more personal detail was added (Kellerhals 1). The other pits contained different types of warriors and battle formations. Generals, infantrymen, chariots, horses, archers, and many others are lined up in battle formation in two of the four pits (Clarke 1). The third is thought to be the "headquarters" of the army, and the fourth is empty, quite possibly because Shi Huangdi died (Kellerhals 1) before his 720,000 workers finished the 37-year project (Mysteries-tomb 1). The warriors were not the end of The First Emperor’s elaborate tomb structure. The mausoleum where his coffin is lying is just as impressive and complicated. Even though the Emperor’s tomb has not been excavated yet, researchers believe that the roof is decorated with shining pearls that depict stars, the sun, and the moon (Mysteries-tomb 1). Huangdi’s actual coffin is also thought to be sitting upon a huge relief map of his kingdom, including mercury filled lakes and rivers (Mysteries-tomb 1).
When I visited China and the tomb in Xian in 1983 (has it been that long already? seems like yesterday)the guides told us that the Chinese government had a very strict schedule for excavation. Only so much could be dug per year -- partly to keep the suspense alive and the tourists coming back.
BTW, my visit to Xian was the most memorable of my 3 week trip and the most exciting. I recommend Xian to everyone I know who is traveling to China.
The terra cotta soldiers are simply amazing. There are no two faces alike and the uniforms are all different too. Standing amidst the ranks of statues is an eerie feeling -- they look so real.
Some of the soldiers are obviously Caucasian -- perhaps Indians or Turks. Some of the Asian faces resembled friends that I knew growing up in California which had a sizeable population of Chinese at the time.
Although the figures are dark grey or tan now, they were originally painted in lively colors. The museum had one or two with the paint restored, but they looked odd next to all the tan and gray ones. Local artists make a little business copying the life sized statues in minature and selling them to the tourists. I have 3. They are fragile, however. I broke one getting it home in my luggage.
Fascinating!
"Only so much could be dug per year -- partly to keep the suspense alive and the tourists coming back."
That makes a lot of sense for modern China.
The guides told us that the emperor was considered quite kind and enlightened for his day because previous rulers had left orders for their personal bodyguards to be killed and buried with the ruler. The clay soldiers were considered a great improvement over previous burial customs.
See #18 (I spelled your screen name wrong and it didn't go through on the other ping.)
There is room after room of these.
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