Production site of stone armor of Qinshihuang mausoleum discovered

A production site of stone armor of the Qinshihuang mausoleum was discovered in Northwest China's Shaanxi province, the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology said Wednesday.

The site was found in a protection area in the Qindu district of Xianyang, with limestone unearthed that have the same characteristics as the stone armor of the mausoleum of the Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BC), according to the institute.

Ash pits, a house base, ditches and stone ash stacks were found at the site of over 100 square meters, as well as materials to make armor such as stones, workpieces and waste products and tools such as iron awls, drills and knives.

A burial pit of stone armor of the Qinshihuang mausoleum was found in 1998, and a well which is believed to be one of the production bases of the stone armor was discovered in 2001, about 4.5 km north of the mausoleum, said Xu Weihong, a research of the institute.

Such remains were seen by researchers again in July this year in the area, which is 40 km away from the mausoleum, Xu added.

The new site has expanded the sources of burial items of the mausoleum and provides new materials for studying the functions of the northern part of the area, Xu said.