Go figure: Terracotta bonus
Source: Xinhua |
May 19, 2010, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
ARCHEOLOGISTS have unearthed about 120 more clay figures in their latest round of excavations at the terracotta army site that surrounds the tomb of the nation's first emperor in northwest China's Shaanxi Province.
Most of the newly found terracotta warriors were broken when unearthed from the No. 1 pit in Lintong County, 35 kilometers east of Xi'an, where excavation started in June last year, Xu Weihong, head of the excavation team, said yesterday.
Thus, he said, it was hard to tell the exact number of figures.
The No. 1 pit is the first and largest of three at the site. It had also suffered the worst damage, so archeologists did not pin much hope on the excavation.
Xu said it was "a pleasant surprise" to find some of them were painted pink, red, white, gray or lilac.
Xu and his colleagues used special chemicals to preserve the clay figures' original colors and after taking photographs wrapped them in plastic film for protection.
Richly colored clay figures were unearthed from the mausoleum of Qinshihuang, the first emperor of a united China, in the previous two excavations, but once they were exposed to the air they began to lose their luster and turned gray.
The newly found figures are between 1.8 and 2 meters tall, which has proved a mystery.
"We're not certain whether people who lived in the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BC) were actually that tall, or the craftsmen exaggerated their height," said Xu.
An officer stood out in the new army. It was one of the best preserved figures of this lot, Xu said.
Besides the terracotta warriors, archeologists also found 12 clay horses, two chariots, drums and piles of charcoal believed to be grain from the ancient times, said Zhang Tianzhu, deputy head of the excavation.
Most of the newly found terracotta warriors were broken when unearthed from the No. 1 pit in Lintong County, 35 kilometers east of Xi'an, where excavation started in June last year, Xu Weihong, head of the excavation team, said yesterday.
Thus, he said, it was hard to tell the exact number of figures.
The No. 1 pit is the first and largest of three at the site. It had also suffered the worst damage, so archeologists did not pin much hope on the excavation.
Xu said it was "a pleasant surprise" to find some of them were painted pink, red, white, gray or lilac.
Xu and his colleagues used special chemicals to preserve the clay figures' original colors and after taking photographs wrapped them in plastic film for protection.
Richly colored clay figures were unearthed from the mausoleum of Qinshihuang, the first emperor of a united China, in the previous two excavations, but once they were exposed to the air they began to lose their luster and turned gray.
The newly found figures are between 1.8 and 2 meters tall, which has proved a mystery.
"We're not certain whether people who lived in the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BC) were actually that tall, or the craftsmen exaggerated their height," said Xu.
An officer stood out in the new army. It was one of the best preserved figures of this lot, Xu said.
Besides the terracotta warriors, archeologists also found 12 clay horses, two chariots, drums and piles of charcoal believed to be grain from the ancient times, said Zhang Tianzhu, deputy head of the excavation.
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