(A bronze chariot from the tomb of Qin Shi Huang)
The Claim
No one is allowed to explore the most treasure rich tomb on earth, even though its location has been known for years.
The Tomb of Qin Shi Huang was discovered by peasants digging a well in 1974, and during the attempt managed to stumble on the world famous terracotta army. The figures were later found to be part of a much larger burial site that formed an underground burial city for the first Emperor of the Qin dynasty.
The underground network of chambers and corridors was built to house all the things that emperor Qin Shi Huang would need in the after life, including all his wealth and his own personal army.
Qin Shi Huang died in 210BC and to make sure he had everything he needed after his death, he ordered hundreds of thousands of workers to build him a grand mausoleum. This resting place has been shrouded in mystery since it was built, as the workers who knew of what it contained were all killed, and the whole complex was buried and covered over with trees and other plants to make it look like a natural hill.
The following account of the tomb construction comes from a Chinese historian named Sima Qian who died in 86BC:
In the ninth month, the First Emperor was interred at Mount Li. When the First Emperor first came to the throne, the digging and preparation work began at Mount Li. Later, when he had unified his empire, 700,000 men were sent there from all over his empire. They dug through three layers of groundwater, and poured in bronze for the outer coffin. Palaces and scenic towers for a hundred officials were constructed, and the tomb was filled with rare artifacts and wonderful treasure. Craftsmen were ordered to make crossbows and arrows primed to shoot at anyone who enters the tomb. Mercury was used to simulate the hundred rivers, the Yangtze and Yellow River, and the great sea, and set to flow mechanically. Above were representation of the heavenly constellations, below, the features of the land. Candles were made from fat of “man-fish”, which is calculated to burn and not extinguish for a long time. The Second Emperor said: “It would be inappropriate for the concubines of the late emperor who have no sons to be out free”, ordered that they should accompany the dead, and a great many died. 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 inside. None could escape. Trees and vegetations were then planted on the tomb mound such that it resembles a hill.
— Sima Qian, Shiji, Chapter 6
Even though the first few parts of the tomb have been extensively studied and completely uncovered, the actual resting place of the emperor himself remains untouched, mostly due to the claim of the traps and possible river of mercury.
So far estimates on exactly how deep the emperors tomb is range from between 20 and 50 meters, but most people can agree on the dimensions of it from ground penetrating radar scans. The main tomb room is 50 meters long by 80 meters wide, and has a ceiling height of 15 meters. There has also been a huge amount of metal detected within the room, which is most likely an enormous amount of gold, along with other very valuable items.
There has also been very high levels of mercury detected in the tomb, which gives some credit to the rivers of mercury tale. An expertly made underground drainage system was discovered in 2000 which showed that the tomb hasn’t flooded since it was built, which would unfortunately mean that if there is a mercury river down there, its probably still intact.
So far there’s been a huge amount of treasure found in the tomb, the most notable of which is the terracotta army. Consisting of over 8000 soldiers, 130 chariots and 520 horses, plus an additional 150 cavalry horses. Countless weapons and smaller artifacts have been found, but its believed the vast majority of the treasure is within the room of the Emperor.
Apart from the threat of traps, there is another very important reason no ones gone in yet, and that’s the ability to preserve the historical importance of what ever is in there. When the terracotta army was discovered and researchers went in to investigate, the original paint on the soldiers started to rapidly peel off after making contact with the air.
The tomb chamber will need to be accessed in an air tight environment with alot of support gear on standby, and the possibility of a huge quantity of mercury being exposed to oxygen after been sealed for so long could be very dangerous indeed. China simply lacks the technology to safely enter the tomb, and there’s no chance they would let another country try, so until they find a way to safely get in no one will know whats in there.
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