Strange statue among the terracotta army of Qin Shi Huang

(NLDO) - The archaeological team studying the terracotta army in the tomb of Qin Shi Huang said they have just discovered a rare statue.

According to Live Science, the mysterious statue that was just discovered has many different characteristics compared to other statues in the terracotta army in the tomb of Qin Shi Huang in Shaanxi province - China.

Scientists believe this discrepancy suggests it is a statue of a high-ranking military officer, possibly a general.

Strange statue discovered among Qin Shi Huang's terracotta army - Photo: CCTV

The statue was discovered along with the remains of two chariots, three horses and two other small statues, all made of clay like the rest of the terracotta army.

This new discovery may show that the Terracotta Army is a treasure worth much more than imagined.

They were not only lavish funerary objects for Qin Shi Huang, but also practical models of how the military was organized during the Qin Dynasty in China.

The strange statue was restored and displayed in the museum - Photo: CCTV

"The arrangement of senior officers in military formations reflects military strategy, such as the command system during the Qin Dynasty," said Dr. Xiuzhen Janice Li from the University of Oxford (UK), who was a senior scientist at the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum Museum.

The Terracotta Army was discovered in 1974 during the construction of a well in northwestern China and became one of the greatest archaeological discoveries.

It is an army of thousands of life-sized clay statues located in three pits, dating back to the 3rd century BC.

To date, archaeologists have excavated about 2,000 terracotta warriors. Experts estimate the total number of statues in the three pits to be up to 8,000, according to the National Museum of Liverpool (UK).

New statues - including that of a mysterious general - were discovered in pit number 2, which is believed to have contained cavalry.

Zhu Sihong, head of the excavation project, told the South China Morning Post that the general was the first high-ranking officer to be discovered at the excavation site.

Previously, a few statues believed to be of generals were also found among other pits.

According to CCTV , the military officers in the Terracotta Army are distinguished by their colorful helmets and armor, intricate patterns, and different hand postures compared to normal soldier statues.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/buc-tuong-di-biet-giua-doi-quan-dat-nung-cua-tan-thuy-hoang-196241221080322058.htm