Heres some info on the early chinese emporer and his tomb:
For more than two millennia, the weathered, unimposing tumulus of Qin Shihuangdi, China's first emperor, has loomed among the cornfields and fruit
trees east of Xian.
While the discovery 29 years ago of the marvelous terra cotta warriors that guard the burial site came as a complete surprise, the existence of
the mound was common knowledge. Yet, to this day, the tomb of Qin (pronounced "Chin") Shihuangdi � who united warring states and took the name
"China's First Emperor" � remains untouched by the spades of archaeologists. A conundrum wrapped in legend and rumor, the resting place of the
emperor holds the promise of a treasure trove that staggers the minds of those who have studied, contemplated and dreamt of unearthing it.
"It is the greatest enigma in archaeology," said Wang Xueli, a professor at the Shaanxi Provincial Archeological Institute who is considered one
of the foremost experts on the burial site. Upon its completion, the Emperor's earthen mound rivaled the pyramids of Egypt in scope and ambition.
While the pyramids have been opened and found largely looted and empty, nobody knows exactly what Qin Shihuangdi's sepulchre contains.
After the burial vault, side chambers and passageways were built, and the pit was covered with earth and topped with the terraced mound.
According to the "Shi Ji" ("Historical Records") of Sima Qian, a scholar from the Western Han dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 25), which contains the
earliest account of Qin Shihuangdi's mausoleum, the emperor was laid to rest in a bronze casket amid a sea and rivers of mercury, which was
circulated by a kind of perpetual-motion device. Other records describe the emperor being dressed in jade and gold, with pearls in his mouth, and the
coffin floating on the mercury.
The vaulted ceiling is said to be covered with pearl versions of night-sky constellations and the floor covered with a miniature landscape of his
empire, with models of pavilions and palaces. Entrances to the vault are booby-trapped with hair-trigger crossbows to pierce intruders with arrows.
washingtontimes.com...
I saw a special on this tomb on Discovery Channel a long time ago.
[Edited on 2-11-2003 by thehippiedude]
[Edited on 2-11-2003 by thehippiedude]