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The reporter learned from a press conference held by the Shaanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau on January 12 that the third excavation of the No. 1 pit of the Qin Terracotta Army cleaned up more than 220 terracotta figurines, initially clarified the arrangement of military formations, clarified the production procedures of the terracotta figurines, and the signs of the Yongdao Road can provide very powerful evidence for Xiang Yu's destruction of the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum and the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Pit.
The picture shows the No. 1 pit of the Qin Terracotta Army. Photo by Zhang Yuan
The Qin Terracotta Army burial pit is a group of large burial pits outside the mausoleum of the First Emperor of Qin, of which the No. 1 pit has the largest area and rectangular plan, according to the arrangement density estimate, more than 6,000 terracotta figurines and pottery horses can be unearthed after all excavations. From 2009 to 2022, the Mausoleum Museum of the First Emperor of Qin carried out the third official excavation of Pit No. 1, with an excavation area of about 430 square meters.
The picture shows the excavation area. Photo courtesy of Shaanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau
In this excavation, more than 220 terracotta figurines and 16 pottery horses were cleaned up; 4 chariots, 2 drums, 1 drumstick, 1 lacquer shield, 3 cages; There are many weapons and crossbows; More than 1,000 pieces (groups) of horse and carriage tools, weapons, production tools, etc. were found.
Shen Maosheng, a researcher at the Mausoleum Museum of the First Emperor of Qin, introduced that the wooden structure of the pit is a frame structure composed of ground - pillar - fangmu - shed wood, compared with other funeral pits composed of cushion wood - floor - column - box wood - shed wood is technically primitive, the terracotta warriors and horses burial pit should be an earlier group of burial pits built in the mausoleum.
Through archaeological excavations, some important discoveries and new understandings have also been made. In terms of the rank of the figurines and the military formation, the functions of the special figurines were clarified, and the arrangement of the military formations was preliminarily clarified. In terms of the remains of the car, the remains such as cages were cleared, and it was determined that they were equipped with a device to hold debris, not a manger. In terms of weapons and equipment, it is believed that the long weapons in the pit are mainly beryllium and halberd; The short weapon distinguishes the difference in rank between the two bronze swords; long-range weapons, which solved the problem of the use of sandalwood; Protective equipment clears the first shield in the pit; Directs equipment to clear drums and drumsticks.
Archaeologists at work in the excavation area. Photo courtesy of Shaanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau
In addition, through archaeological excavations, it is believed that the arms of the figurines were made separately, and after the torso of the terracotta figurines was completely made, they were covered with fine clay twice, and the detailed carvings including the armour were bonded only after the armor was completed, clarifying the production process of the terracotta figurines. There have also been new breakthroughs in the protection of painted paintings and the restoration of cultural relics, and more than 140 terracotta figurines have been restored so far.
Shen Maosheng said that the archaeological excavation showed that the Yong Road had been dug up, and it was speculated that someone used the Yong Road to enter the pit. The people who can use the Yong Road to enter the Gong Pit for destruction, must be the people who participated in the construction of the Yong Pit, and the Qin soldiers who surrendered Xiang Yu, these people must be familiar with the road if they accept Xiang Yu's instructions to destroy, so the signs of the Yong Road can provide a very powerful evidence for Xiang Yu to destroy the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum and the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Pit.