Emperor Qinshihuang’s terracotta army appears even mightier after Chinese archeologists unearthed more than 100 additional soldiers, though the warriors fell prey to arson and looting by the military leader who overthrew the First Emperor’s dynasty, the new find suggests.
We have found large quantities of red clay and charcoal along with holes for robbing in the major pit,
Shen Maosheng, who is leading one of the teams, told Shanghai Daily. Rebel leader Xiang [Yu] was the person with the power, time and motive to destroy the terracotta warriors.
He believes Xiang’s troops stole the weapons and smashed figures before setting fire to parts of the pit.
In all, more than 8,000 soldiers have been uncovered at the world famous mausoleum in Xi’an, north-west China, but much of it is still unexplored. The 310 relics found in this phase of excavation, which began in 2009, are believed to be only a fraction of those that remain — via redwolf.newsvine.com
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