Six major archaeological discoveries in 2015
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E-mail China Daily, December 14, 2015
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The most complete crossbow was found at the No.1 pit of the Museum of Qin Shihuang Terracotta Warriors and Horses in Xi'an city. [Photo/Chinanews.com] |
A new find in Terracotta Warrior Army site
Chinese archaeologists have been excavating the No. 1 pit of the Museum of Qin Shihuang Terracotta Warriors and Horses in Xi'an city, capital of Northwestern China's Shaanxi province since 2009. They announced an astonishing find in late March: a 2,200-year-old crossbow in pristine condition buried with the vast army of terracotta warriors.
According to experts, this is the most complete crossbow found to date at the site. It has a 145 centimeter (57 inch) arch and, incredibly, the bow string remains intact and measures 130 centimeters (51 inches) long. Researchers believe the string is made of animal tendon rather than fabric, which would have degraded and disappeared long ago.
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Chinese archeologists also excavated at the No.2 pit of the Museum of Qin Shihuang Terracotta Warriors and Horses since this May. [Photo/Xinhua] |
Shen Maosheng, head of the archaeological team which made the discovery said that two wooden sticks, called Qing, were found alongside the crossbow. Qing was thought to help maintain and transport the crossbows thousands of years ago, as noted in ancient records.
"When we dusted off the sticks, we found three holes equidistant from each other and concluded that they were probably used to hang up ropes that fastened the crossbows when they were not in use. It was a great way to keep the arch and string in shape and thus maintain their power in the long run. Besides, Qing was practical to help fix the crossbows during transportation," said Shen.
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