Qin Shi Huang Tomb

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Discovered in 1974 a group of farmers digging wells near Xi'an, China stumbled upon the tomb of Qin Shi Huang which is located 22 miles east of Xian Shi Huangdi. (259 BC - 210 BC), the first emperor of China, inherited the throne at the age of 13, when construction of his tomb began. He was responsible for several immense construction projects built by his people, including the Great Wall of China. The laborers came from three groups of people, craftsmen, prisoners and people who were repaying a debt. Sima Qian, a great historian who wrote in early Han dynasty, offered archeologists great insight on the mausoleum's construction. We learned from him that the tomb is huge. Moreover, booby traps with automatic-shooting arrows and crossbow booby traps were …show more content…

Legend has it that liquid mercury was used to simulate the hundred rivers, the Yangtze and Yellow River, which the ancient Chinese believed could impart immortality. In fact, archaeological probes that have been sent into the tomb have detected incredibly high levels of mercury so it has yet to be opened. Perhaps because of the danger, Qin Shi Huang’s tomb remains unopened to this day. There is also significant danger to any archaeologists on hand. His tomb is guarded by thousands of terracotta warrior statues. Thousands of clay soldiers, each painstakingly unique have stood guard over the hundereds of years. So far, they've uncovered about 2,000 clay soldiers, but experts estimate there are more than 8,000 in total., Many laborers died of hardship during its construction, and all the workmen were entombed along with the emperor. After the burial, it was suggested that it would be a serious breach if the craftsmen who constructed the mechanical devices and knew of its treasures were to divulge those secrets. Therefore after the funeral ceremonies had completed and the treasures hidden away, the inner passageway was blocked, and the outer gate lowered, immediately trapping all the workers and craftsmen

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