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From The Times (UK)August 22, 2007 Inside the Emperor’s underground palace Dalya Alberge, Arts Correspondent It covers an area the size of Cambridge but so far only a tiny proportion of the site of the First Emperor of China’s underground palace for the afterlife has been excavated. Now Chinese archaeologists have used computerised imagery to complete a 3-D reconstruction of the giant tomb that lies 30 metres beneath a mound, with the Qinling mountains in the background. The dramatic imagery has been made available to The Times by the historian John Man, before he publishes pictures and a detailed description...

MessageToEagle.com - A Mexican archeologist hunting for a royal tomb in a deep, dark tunnel beneath a towering pre-Aztec pyramid has made a discovery that may have brought him a step closer: liquid mercury,' according to Reuters' report. In the bowels of Teotihuacan, a mysterious ancient city that was once the largest in the Americas, Sergio Gomez this month found "large quantities" of the silvery metal in a chamber at the end of a sacred tunnel sealed for nearly 1,800 years. "It's something that completely surprised us," Gomez said at the entrance to the tunnel below Teotihuacan's Pyramid of the...

Archaeologists have found the remains of an ancient imperial palace near the tomb of emperor Qin Shi Huang, home of the famous terracotta army, China's state media reported on Sunday. The palace is the largest complex discovered so far in the emperor's sprawling 22 square-mile (56 square-km) second-century BC mausoleum, which lies on the outskirts of Xi'an, an ancient capital city in central China, an associate researcher at the Shaanxi provincial institute of archaeology told China's official news wire Xinhua. It is an estimated 690 metres long and 250 metres wide – about a quarter of the size of the...

Over 8,000 unearthed terracotta warriors stand in formation in a massive underground tomb (Pit 1) built for Emperor Qinshihuang's protection in his afterlife just 100 miles north-west of Xi'an, one of the oldest cities in China and the capital of Shaanxi Province on June 28, 2012. The Museum of the Terracotta Army has been listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

Terracotta army has egg on its face Monday, 21 April 2008 Jennifer Viegasv Discovery News Soldiers of China's terracotta army were once brightly painted, then preserved with an egg coating (Source: Reuters/Philippe Wojazer) China's terracotta army, a collection of 7000 soldier and horse figures in the mausoleum of the country's first emperor, was covered with beaten egg when it was made, scientists say. According to German and Italian chemists who have analysed samples from several figurines, the egg was as a binder for colourful paints, which went over a layer of lacquer. "Egg paint is normally very stable, and not...

5 guesses on Emperor Qin Shihuang's tomb Qin Shihuang holds a central place in Chinese history for being the first emperor who united the country. He is also well known for his part in the construction of the spectacular Great Wall and his splendid terracotta army. To ensure his rule in the afterlife, this emperor commanded more than 700,000 conscripts from all parts of the country to build him a grand mausoleum as luxurious as any of the palaces he had in mortal life. Legend says that numerous treasures were placed in the tomb. As time passed, no one knew...

Mysterious building discovered in emperor's tomb Last Updated(Beijing Time):2007-07-01 10:33 Chinese archaeologists said that after five years of research they have confirmed that there is a 30-meter-high building buried in the tomb of Qinshihuang, Chinese first emperor more than 2,000 years ago. The building, buried in the 51-meter-high, pyramid-like earth above the tomb's main body underground, has four surrounding stair-like walls and each wall with nine steps of platforms, said Duan Qingbo, a researcher with Shaanxi Institute of Archaeology. The whole building were buried under the earth, which made it difficult for researchers to get a complete picture of it,...

XIAN, China: The tomb of China's first emperor is potentially one of the most spectacular on Earth, but a heated debate is developing over whether to excavate it at all. Chinese archaeologists have expressed concern that they do not currently have the expertise to properly preserve what they find inside the tomb - located in China's central province of Shaanxi – but new technologies may be closing that gap. Qinshi Huang's enormous tomb complex is the home of Xian's famed terracotta warriors; 8,000 life-size figures that were discovered by accident in 1974. The tomb itself, though, has not yet been...

Pollen Reveals Terracotta Army Origins Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News Pollen Found Inside Jan. 29, 2007 — China’s Terracotta Army has mystified scholars since the 8,099 clay warriors and horses were first discovered in Emperor Qin Shihuang’s mausoleum in 1974. The figures, meant to protect the emperor in the afterlife, were buried with him around 210-209 B.C. At least one mystery about the imposing faux army recently was solved. It is now known that the horses and warriors were constructed in different locations, based on analysis of pollen found in fragments of terracotta that were collected from the clay figures.Horses Made...

Archaeologists find terracotta figurines older than those buried with Chinese first emperor Chinese archaeologists have discovered two terracotta figurines dating back to about 2,500 years ago, older than the famous terracotta warriors buried with first Chinese emperor Qinshihuang. The rough-hewn, 10-centimeter tall statues might be the oldest terracotta figurines produced by the Qin State at the beginning of the Warring States Period (475 BC-221 BC), said some experts. The two figurines were found at the ruins of Yongcheng, an ancient Qin State capital, in northwest Shaanxi Province, according to local media reports. Qin State unified China in 221 BC. Qinshihuang,...

With its tales of buried treasure and the elixir of youth, the recent movie "Myth" has heightened interest in the mystical Mausoleum of Qinshihuang (259-210 BC). Starring Hong Kong actor Jackie Chan as an archaeologist, the film focuses on what could be hidden within the tomb, which was built more than 2,000 years ago... "It is the best choice to keep the ancient tomb untouched, because of the complex conditions inside," said Duan Qingbo, archaeologist and researcher in the Shaanxi Provincial Archaeology Institute. Duan, who is also the head of the archaeological team working on the ancient mausoleum, told China...

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.

JAN 10, 2003 Five more chambers of first emperor's tomb found Rooms are even bigger than pits that hold his terracotta armyBEIJING - Archaeologists say they have found five more chambers in the sprawling tomb complex of China's legendary first emperor - rooms even bigger than the pits that hold his famed terracotta army. Qin Shihuang is credited with creating the first Chinese empire in 220 BC after conquering neighbouring kingdoms. His tomb near the city of Xi'an has not been opened, but the thousands of life-size clay soldiers unearthed in the 1970s are a major tourist attraction. Archaeologists...

Tomb of 1st emperor's grandmother unearthed www.chinaview.cn 2006-07-29 20:19:32 XI'AN, July 29 (Xinhua) -- After more than a year's excavation and research in a large tomb in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Chinese archaeologists have concluded that the tomb belonged to the grandmother of Qinshihuang, the country's first emperor.   Zhang Tian'en, an expert with the Shaanxi Provincial Archaeology Institute, told Xinhua on Saturday that the tomb was chronologically the closest to the mysterious mausoleum of Qinshihuang, and was probably built on the emperor's orders. "We are hoping that the excavation of his grandmother's tomb will help unravel the mystery about...

According to China.org.cn, the tomb complex covers an area measuring 173,325 square metres, stretching 550m in length and 310 meters in width, and is the second largest tomb to have ever been discovered in the country... Qin Shi Huang (260-210BC) was the first emperor to unify China and enact major economic and political reforms across the country. China had previously consisted of a multitude of warring states and kingdoms, each under the control of feudal overlords, leading to much instability... After the death of Qin Shi Huang's father, he took the throne at the age of 13. His mother took...

Archaeologists have recently discovered the most complete ancient crossbow to date in the terracotta army pit one in Xi'an, Shaanxi province. Among hundreds of pieces of crossbows unearthed in the past, this one is said to be the best-preserved in general, with a 145cm arch and a 130cm bow string. The bow string has a smooth surface which experts believe to be made from animal tendon instead of fabric and the trigger mechanism is made of bronze, according to Shen Maosheng, head of the archaeological team. Shen also points out that this new discovery sheds light on how Qing, two...