China to Remote Sense Mysterious Tomb of First Emperor

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, December 13, 2002

China to Remote Sense Mysterious Tomb of First Emperor

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Chinese scientists and archaeologists will survey the Mausoleum of Emperor Qinshihuang (259 BC-210 BC), the first emperor of China's feudal dynasties, using remote sensing and geophysical techniques in a bid to unravel the historical mystery.

As a key project of the National High Technology Research and Development Program, the survey is by far the most comprehensive research ever on the mausoleum and set to end by Sept. 2003.

"We will use aerial remote sensing and geophysical techniques to identify the position, depth and basic structure of the underground palace, as well as the 60-square-km area surrounding the tomb," said Guan Haiyan, the project's senior engineer.

"At that time, people can tell whether or not there were mercurial rivers and lakes underground and whether the historical records told the truth," said Guan, also director of the Shaanxi Remote Sensing Center.

Located 36 kilometers east of Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, the grand mausoleum was the eternal resting place for Ying Zheng, or Emperor Qinshihuang, who unified China for the first time.

According to historical records, it took 700,000 people 36 years to build the luxurious underground tomb, where mercury was used to imitate rivers and lakes, numerous treasures and women were buried with the dead emperor.

However, the actual structure and position of the mausoleum remain a mystery despite several surveys conducted since the 1970s.

So far, only three vaults containing thousands of terra-cotta figures have been found 1.5 kilometers east of the mausoleum, and two sets of large bronze chariots and horses were excavated west of the mausoleum.

Discovery of the buried legion, or terra-cotta horses and warriors, has aroused great interest worldwide, making it "the eighth wonder of the world." However, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

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