Qinshihuang Mausoleum may contain ancient armory  

(Photo source: screen shot from online video)

(ECNS) – A number of stone armors and helmets have been found in a tomb inside the Mausoleum of Emperor Qinshihuang, and archaeologists speculated it might be an armory, Guangming Daily reported.

The tomb mound number K9801, which is 13,000 square meters, is under pilot excavation, and so far 87 armors and 43 helmets have been found.

Experts estimated thousands of stone armors were still under the earth, and stone pieces could exceed 5 million.

"These stones were made of bluestones with delicate designs and shapes," an archaeologist said.

Scale-shaped pieces were also found among them, which are considered to have been developed during the Han Dynasty, he added.

In addition, armors for war horses and bronze components from carriages were also discovered.

Zhang Weixing, deputy chief of the Emperor Qinshihuang Mausoleum Site Museum, said the refined armors and helmets were not real war equipment, but items buried with the emperor. "The mound functioned as an armory to the mausoleum," Zhang said.