When terracotta warriors were first unearthed, their vibrant paint vanished within minutes of air exposure. That lesson keeps the main mound sealed, where silk, lacquer, written documents, and potentially toxic mercury vapor may await. China's guiding principle: protect first, excavate later, preserving treasures for future generations with better tools.
Why China refuses to excavate the tomb: preservation risks drive 'protect first, dig later' policy
SpainGeneral
Key facts
- When terracotta warriors were first unearthed, they were originally painted in bright reds, greens, purples, and pink; exposure to air caused the paint to curl, flake, and vanish within minutes.
- Archaeologists fear similar deterioration would destroy fragile materials inside the main mound, including silk, lacquer, wood, written documents, and a possible painted map of China on the floor.
- Opening the burial chamber risks releasing a toxic cloud of mercury vapor that has been sealed under pressure for over 2,000 years.
- The internal structure may be structurally unstable, with sections potentially collapsing if disturbed.
- China's official policy is to protect first and excavate later, if at all; more than 50 years after the terracotta army's discovery, most of the soldiers remain buried while archaeologists work through them gradually.
- A leading archaeologist quoted in the video stated the guiding principle: leave something for future generations and avoid irreversible mistakes.
Sources
worldhistory.org
Linked in video description
Raiders of the lost pigments | Featurechemistryworld.com
In the first excavation of the Terracotta Warriors pits in the 1970s, exposed paint quickly flaked off the figures, sometimes in minutes. This ...
Scientific investigation of the paint and adhesive materials ...sciencedirect.com
by S Wei · 2012 · Cited by 89 — Fortunately, they are well preserved with bright colour; most of the colours used are red, white and purple. It is another great discovery after Qin Shihuang's ...
Does This Pic Show True Colors of Terracotta Soldiers ...snopes.com
A photograph shared to Reddit in June 2021 showed the original, colorful state of China's terracotta soldiers before environmental ...
The Original Colors of the Terracotta Armychinahighlights.com
The reason for the terracotta army's fading colors has been ascertained: the adhesive force between painting layers was weak. The bottom was made of raw lacquer ...
Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huangen.wikipedia.org
Anomalously high levels of mercury in the area of the tomb mound have been detected, : 204 which gives credence to the Sima Qian's account that mercury was used ...
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