XI’AN, CHINA—According to a Xinhua report, 200 terracotta warriors have been recovered over the past ten years from a 4,000-square-foot section of one of the three pits that surround the tomb of Qin Shihuang, who ruled as the first emperor of China from 221 to 210 B.C. Shen Maosheng of the Emperor Qin Shihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum said many of the newly excavated warrior figures hold pole weapons in bent right arms with half-clenched fists. Others carry bows with their right arms hanging at their sides. The arrangement of the figures in the pit reflect their army tasks, Shen explained, while their armor and dress signify their rank. Storage boxes, shields, bronze swords, bows, 12 terracotta horses, and traces of two chariots were also recovered from Pit Number 1, which is estimated to cover a total of three and one-half acres and contain more than 6,000 terracotta warrior and horse figures. For more, go to "The Story of the Horse: Riding into the Afterlife."
