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Discover the massive terracotta army, buried for centuries and revealing the grandeur of China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang. Uncover the history, mythology, and mystery of the tomb complex and its impact on our understanding of ancient ChinaDiscovering the Secrets of Emperor Qin's Mausoleum | Megaprojects | 918K subscribers | 161,749 views | Febuary 6, 2023

Shi Xingbang, one of the forefathers of China’s vibrant world of archaeology, passed away last Friday at the age of 99. The famous scientist had his hands in some of China’s most important discoveries since the Communist Party began running the country. He was a key figure in organising the excavation of the Qin Shihuang Mausoleum, famously known for the Terracotta Army, and was involved in part of the archaeological survey of the Three Gorges region before the dam was completed in 2003. In the academic world, Shi is most famous for his 1953 discovery of the Banpo Village, estimated...

A terra cotta warrior and horse is seen during a media preview for the exhibit "Terra Cotta Warriors: Guardians of China's First Emperor" at the National Geographic in Washington on November 17, 2009. The exhibit, which opens November 19, features 15 terra cotta figures. UPI/Kevin Dietsch

The trial of a Delaware man who confessed last year to drunkenly snapping off the finger of an ancient Chinese terra-cotta warrior statue at the Franklin Institute ended in a mistrial Tuesday, after the jury reported it was deadlocked on whether prosecutors had charged him under the appropriate law. The panel of seven men and five women spent roughly 11 hours debating the fate of Michael Rohana, 25, of Bear, but was unable to reach a verdict on counts including theft and concealment of an object of cultural heritage. U.S. District Judge Petrese B. Tucker dismissed jurors just after 4:30...

Inside a 2,100-year-old pit, archaeologists have discovered a miniature army of sorts: carefully arranged chariots and mini statues of cavalry, watchtowers, infantry and musicians. They look like a miniaturized version of the Terracotta Army — a collection of chariots and life-size sculptures of soldiers, horses, entertainers and civil officials — that was constructed for Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China. Based on the design of the newfound artifacts, archaeologists believe that the pit was created about 2,100 years ago, or about a century after the construction of the Terracotta Army. The southern part of the pit is filled with...

The emperor's "afterlife army" just got bigger.Archaeologists have uncovered more than 20 new Terracotta Warriors, life-size figures built to protect the first emperor of China in the afterlife.The Terracotta army is thought to consist of 8,000 sculpted "warriors" located in three pits about a mile northeast of the mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang (259 B.C. to 210 B.C.), who unified China in 221 B.C. Archaeologists have excavated about 2,000 of these lifelike soldiers, which were buried with weapons such as crossbows, spears and swords, some of which still intact.Qin Shi Huang became king of Qin in 247 B.C., one...

This site is famous for the Terracotta Army that was built to protect Qin in death However, his tomb has never been opened for fear of damaging the contents Chinese scientists have proposed to scan the complex with muon radiation This is formed when cosmic rays interact with particles in the upper atmosphere Measuring the muon flux will allow an image to be made like an 3D X-ray scan

'Foreigner' helped build Terracotta Army Jonathan Watts in Beijing Wednesday June 28, 2006 The Guardian (UK) Chinese archaeologists have unearthed evidence that a foreign worker helped build the Terracotta Army mausoleum, the resting place of the country's first emperor, who died more than 2,200 years ago. The remains of the worker, described as a foreign man in his 20s, were found among 121 shattered skeletons in a labourers' tomb 500 metres from the mausoleum in the north-western city of Xian, the state-run Xinhua news agency said. According to Xinhua, the man may prove to be "China's first foreign worker", though...

Chinese archaeologists have discovered terracotta warriors painted in rich colours in the mausoleum complex of the country's first emperor. China Daily said the company of 114 terracotta soldiers was found at Number One pit, one of three such pits in the grave complex in China's central city of X'ian. Xu Weihong, the excavation team leader said: The total area of the excavation was some 200 square metres and we were pleasantly surprised to find rich colours on terracotta warriors. He said the clay figures, which are between 1,8 and two metres tall, had black hair, green, white or pink faces...

A 2,100-year-old pit discovered in China was found to contain not only chariots and miniature statues of cavalry, horses, watchtowers, infantry, civil officials and musicians, but at its center was a scaled down version of the famous "Terracotta Army." ..Based on "the date, size and location of the pit," archaeologists believe it might been built for Liu Hong, a prince of Qi (a part of China), who was the son of Emperor Wu (reign 141–87 BC)." Based in Linzi, near the pit, Hong died in 110 BC without any heir, archaeologists wrote in their journal article. The scientists also wrote...

PHILADELPHIA - A statue that stood guard, buried and undamaged for more than 2,000 years, couldn’t contend with a man at a private party in Philadelphia who just had to sneak off and take a selfie, according to multiple media reports. The man, later identified as Michael Rohana, 24, was seen in a restricted area at the Franklin Institute during a party on Dec. 21 that was held after-hours at the museum, The New York Times reported. FBI officials said Rohana used his cellphone’s flash as a light source to see the displays. He then put his arm around one...

CHINA's famous terracotta army is about to be reinforced: Fresh excavations on a burial pit in the ancient capital, Xi'an are expected to uncover 1500 more of the live-sized clay figurines. The excavation, which began last Thursday, is centred upon a 200sq/m patch of the 56sq/km underground mausoleum of China's first emperor, Emperor Qinshihuang, who reigned in 221BC. Archaeologist Yuan Zhongyi told media that he anticipated the burial pit would contain 1400 more terracotta warriors and archers, along with about 90 horse-drawn chariots. Progress has so far been promising, he said.: "Their colourful paint is also relatively well preserved." The...

Terracotta army sets off to conquer Britain By Nigel Reynolds, Arts Correrspondent Last Updated: 1:35am GMT 08/02/2007 In pictures: Terracotta Warriors collection China's "terracotta army" is marching on London to bring the capital its greatest exhibition for a generation. Some of the 8,000 terracotta warriors. A dozen will go on show at the British Museum in September In a spectacular deal with China, the British Museum is to display some of the famous life-size figures from the second century BC found in the west of the country in 1974. The Chinese have agreed to loan not only a dozen of...

Back to Story - Help German joins China's ancient warriors Mon Sep 18, 10:27 PM ET A German art student tried to join a Chinese dynasty's army — but he volunteered centuries too late. The 26-year-old man — identified only as "Pablo" or by his Chinese name "Ma Lin" — made a dusty brown suit of armor, a tunic and a helmet, and attempted to blend in with the ancient warriors of the terra cotta army in the western city of Xi'an, the Hong Kong newspapers Ming Pao Daily News and Wen Wei Po reported on Monday.The outfit matched...

The photos contained in this album are of the Terra-cotta warriors located in the Shaanxi province, just outside of Xi'an. The Terra-cotta army was constructed by order of Qin Shihuang, who ruled as the first emperor of China from 259 BC - 210 BC.The soldiers were first discovered by a peasant farmer in 1976 and were thought to be an insignificant discovery by the communist government. Later, a Chinese reporter caught wind of the discovery and used his position to bring proper recognition to the matter and the farmer was later given a whopping 10元 as a reward for his find. If he's still alive...

One of the world's greatest archeological treasures is in serious trouble because of air pollution and scientists from Nevada are coming to the rescue. The terra cotta warriors were built on orders from the first emperor of China but were buried for more than 2,000 years. Scientists from Nevada's Desert Research Institute have been asked to join an international team looking for ways to keep the warriors from wasting away. The ruthless conqueror who became the first emperor of china wasn't a guy who thought small. Emperor Chin not only started the Great Wall of China, but also used hundreds...

A recently excavated tomb in Nanjing has been confirmed to be the grave of Zheng He, a eunuch from the early Ming Dynasty who led historic voyages to Southeast Asia and eastern Africa. The tomb was discovered accidentally on June 18th by workers at a construction site near Zutang Mountain that also holds the tombs of many other Ming Dynasty eunuchs, the Yangtse Evening News reported. The tomb was 8.5 meters long and 4 meters wide and was built with blue bricks, which archaeologists said were only used in structures belonging to dignitaries during the time of Zheng He. But...

Chinese authorities are livid over the theft of a thumb from a 2,000-year-old terracotta warrior on loan to a US museum, calling for the perpetrator to be "severely" punished. The ancient statue is valued at $4.5 million and considered a "priceless part of China's cultural heritage." It was on display at Philadelphia's Franklin Institute when the vandalism took place. "We call on the United States to severely punish those who have done [this]," Shaanxi Provincial Cultural Relic Exchange Center's director told the Beijing Youth Daily, a state-run Chinese newspaper. The warrior statues date back to 209 B.C., when the...

Since then, archaeologists have puzzled over how ancient artisans produced the estimated 7,000 lifelike clay soldiers, right down to their stylish goatees and plaits of braided hair. Some have suggested that the statues were modeled after real, individual soldiers; others think they were assembled from standard clay ears, noses, and mouths, similar to the Mr. Potato Head toy. Photograph by O. Louis Mazzatenta, National Geographic Creative Recently, in a project known as Imperial Logistics: The Making of the Terracotta Army, a team of archaeologists from University College London (UCL) in Britain and from Emperor Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum Site Museum...

Most of the horses in the terracotta army in a Chinese emperor's tomb had no testicles, pointing to the possibility of equine castration some 2000 years ago. Yuan Jing, an archaeologist with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, studied the more than 600 terracotta horses within the tomb of Qinshihuang, the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty, who ruled from 221 BC to 207 BC. He noted that all the 520 horses that pulled chariots had penises but no testicles. However, some of the 116 cavalry horses were found to have testicles. Yuan said his findings gave some indication of...