The newly Unearthed Pit-Stone Armor and Helmets:

The newly Unearthed Pit-Stone Armor and Helmets:

     In 1998, some 200 meters southeast away from the emperor's tomb, archaeologists discovered a large burial pit containing stone armor and helmets. The pit is rectangular in shape , covering an area of 13,600 square meters. It is the largest burial pit that has been unearthed so far within the confines of the inner and outer walls. Recent excavations unearthed nearly 120 stone armor suits and 90 stone helmets and some other relics. These objects were scattered in disarray on the bottom of the pit when discovered. Inside the pit, several pillars supported a wooden ceiling, which were coated by layers of straw. Different sections of the pit were separated by rammed earth.

     The armor and helmet were made from numerous stone flakes. The stone material was fine-grained limestone in a dark gray color. The stone they made from is easy to break, with poor toughness and heavy weight. The main flakes are rectangular, square,

　

   View of excavation site of the pit of the stone armor and helmets

trapezoid and round in shape, some are in special shape. There are some round and square tiny holes on the stone flakes for stringing with flat copper wires. The edge of non-overlapped flakes is artistically decorated by a groove. The overlapped corners are made round with the aim of linking, expanding and contracting flakes. Judging from the features, archaeologists divide the armor suits into three categories:

     Small stone flakes: Two pieces of this kind armor have been unearthed. The stone pieces are small and thin but exquisitely made, just like fish scales. Both armor suits are composed of over 800 stone flakes.

     Medium stone flakes: Only one piece of this kind has been unearthed, it's believed to be used for the battle steed. Historical book tells that the horse armor didn't appear until the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, but this armor pushed the origin of horse-armor-making at least 400 years earlier.

     At the present time, only one set of stone armor and one stone helmet have been restored. The armor weighs about 18 kilograms and the helmet weighs about 3.1 kilograms with 74 flakes linked together.

     The objects were made the same size as real as real armor coats and helmets. According to archaeologists, they were not for practical use like the iron or leather armor of that era. These might have been specially made as funeral objects for Emperor QinShihuang.