2 pit that is smaller in scale but believed to be richer in archaeological value than the already excavated No. Along with 1,400 warrior and horse statues, the pit is believed to contain 89 war chariots and 116 mounted soldiers, offering invaluable insights into the military culture of the Qin dynasty, the museum said in a statement on its website. Discovered in 1974, the army is one of China's biggest tourist draws, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. The army was built to guard the tomb of the first Qin emperor, Qin Shi Huang, who died in 210 A.D. after conquering much of what is now modern China. Experimental pits dug around the tomb have revealed dancers, musicians, and acrobats full of life and caught in mid-performance, a sharp contrast to the military poses of the famous terra-cotta soldiers. Ancient accounts tell of a huge complex of chambers, including underground rivers filled with flowing mercury, along with the remains of craftsmen and imperial concubines sealed alive in the tomb with the dead emperor. A ruthless figure of fear and awe in Chinese history, Qin built an extensive system of roads and canals along with an early incarnation of the Great Wall of China while unifying measurements and establishing a single written language, currency and legal statutes.
– A new excavation of something branded the "No. 2 pit" is a potentially much more remarkable undertaking than it sounds: It could swell the ranks of China's famed terracotta army. Work began March 30 on the pit, which sits adjacent to the tomb mound of Qin Shi Huang, an emperor who conquered much of modern China before his death in 210 BC. That pit has seen previous excavations, between 1994 and 2008, reports the Xinhua News Agency, and gave up statues whose coloring led archaeologists to conclude the clay warriors were originally painted. What they expect a 2,150-square-foot section of the pit to give up now: as many as 1,400 warrior and horse statues, 89 war chariots, and 116 mounted soldiers, the AP reports by way of the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum. Those warriors would add to the 7,000 that were found at the site—the world's biggest underground mausoleum—since 1974. The No. 2 pit is thought to be a more archaeologically interesting site than the already excavated No. 1, with archaeologist Yuan Zhongyi describing the No. 2 as holding "the true essence of the terracotta army," noting the "colorful paint is also relatively well preserved." National Geographic's file on the terracotta warriors reports there are four pits that have seen some excavation, including one that was found to be empty, "a testament to the original unfinished construction." Qin's tomb mound hasn't been touched, and it's unclear whether China will ever decide to disturb a space that ancient texts describe as one filled with treasures. Last year saw one mystery of the terracotta army solved.