China unearths over 100 new terracotta warriors

Chinese archaeologists have unearthed 110 new terracotta warriors that laid buried for centuries, an official said Monday, part of the famed army built to guard the tomb of China's first emperor. 

Chinese archaeologists at work in the extended excavation of the Pit One of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum in Xian [Credit: AFP]

The life-size figures were excavated near the Qin Emperor's mausoleum in China's northern Xi'an city over the course of three years, and archaeologists also uncovered 12 pottery horses, parts of chariots, weapons and tools. 

"The... excavation on the 200-square-metre (2,152-square-feet) site has found a total of 110 terracotta figurines," Shen Maosheng from the Qin Shihuang Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum -- which oversees the tomb -- told AFP. 

The terracotta warriors are being carefully uncovered using delicate equipment to help preserve the detailed work in their original production more than 2,000 years ago [Credit: Barcroll media]

"The most significant discovery this time around is that the relics that were found were well-preserved and colorfully painted," Shen, deputy head of the museum's archaeology department, said. 

He added that archaeologists had pinpointed the location of another 11 warriors but had yet to unearth them. 

The current excavation, which started in 2009, is the third at the Chinese site following two previous digs which were carried out in 1974 and 1985 [Credit: Barcroll media]

The discovery is the latest in China's cultural sector, after experts found that the Great Wall of China -- which like the Terracotta Army is a UNESCO World Heritage site -- was much longer than previously thought. 

Shen said experts had expected the colors on some of the warriors and wares uncovered at the site to have faded over the centuries, and were surprised to see how well preserved they still were. 

The dig at the pit is expected to carry on for another three years during which time the latest terracotta warriors will be painstakingly revealed and eventually put on public display [Credit: Barcroll media]

The finds also included a shield that was reportedly used by soldiers in the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), with red, green and white geometric patterns. 

Qin Shihuang -- the Qin emperor who had the army built -- presided over the unification of China in 221 BC and is seen as the first emperor of the nation. 

The third excavation covers about 200 square metres in pit number one - the largest and the most visited of the Terracotta Warriors And Horses Museum [Credit: Barcroll media]

The ancient terracotta army was discovered in 1974 by a peasant digging a well. It represents one of the greatest archaeological finds of modern times, and was listed as a World Heritage Site in 1987. 

The news comes after a five-year archaeological survey found the Great Wall of China was more than double the previously estimated length. 

An archaeologist carefully unearths a headless terra cotta warrior, one of around 20 figures newly discovered on the site of the Museum of the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shi Huang, in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province. Experts announced yesterday that they had proof that in antiquity the world-famous terra cotta figures had been looted of weapons and broken and burned, and pointed the finger of suspicion at a rebel leader [Credit: Shanghai Daily]

The survey -- released to the public last week -- found the wall was 21,196 kilometers (13,170 miles) long, compared to an official 2009 figure of 8,851 kilometers. 

Beijing authorities on Saturday also reiterated plans to open two new sections of the Great Wall to tourists and expand two other existing areas to help meet booming demand. 

Source: AFP [June 11, 2012]