Around 200 more warriors from ancient China’s famous Terracotta Army have been unearthed at the tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. Alongside the warriors, archaeologists discovered 12 clay horses, the remains of two chariots, bronze swords, bows and coloured shields.
The discovery was announced by Chinese state-run Xinhua News Agency during the latest round of excavations at the No. 1 pit in an area covering a huge 400 square metres.
Leader of the dig, Shen Maosheng, explained most of the newly found warriors can be divided into two groups: one group carrying poles, another carrying bows.
The Terracotta Army is just one of several wonders of China, built around 2,2000 years ago to protect the Emperor Qin Shi Huang in the afterlife.
The army was assembled in three main pits in the vicinity of the emperor’s mausoleum.
The initial discovery was nothing short of miraculous: farmers stumbling across the sculptures while digging their land in 1974 in northwest China.
The enormity of the site was only realised after a mass exaction programme found a huge complex with thousands of soldiers lined-up inside.
More impressive is the scale of the work put into the army, with each individual warrior possessing unique features.
The tomb spans an area some 38 square miles, containing a mass grave of labourers and craftsmen on top of the warriors.
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Last year, researchers led by Marcos Martinon-Torres, from the Department of Archaeology at Cambridge University, announced the weapons at the site had been remarkably well-preserved.
This was largely down to the natural conditions in the pits were they buried.
The discovery ran contrary to traditional consensus; that the weapons had been coated in some sort of advanced, anti-rust technology.
Speaking to Newsweek, Mr Martinon-Torres said: “In some ways the Terracotta Army feels like an extraordinary playground for archaeologists: It is large, complex, well-preserved, meticulously excavated and great fun.
“It raises countless questions that demand tailor-made collaborative approaches and keep all of us amused.”
The Qin Dynasty lasted just 15 years.
Though, its importance is monumental, marking the first time China was ruled as a unified country.
As well as the Terracotta Army, Emperor Qin Shi Huang was also responsible for the construction of the Great Wall of China.
Culturally, the army is a form of funerary art practiced around the world in different forms, including the more familiar cenotaph tombs.
The mausoleum has, since the discovery, been made a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Emperor Qin ascended the throne aged 13, with work on the mausoleum beginning shortly after his coming to power.