The mystery of the only real warrior's tomb found in the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang

Photo: Netflix

According to the documentary "The Mystery of the Terracotta Warriors" (Netflix, 2024), two months after Qin Shi Huang's death, his body was taken by the new Emperor Hu Hai to be buried in Ly Son.

Buried with him in the tomb were countless gold, silver, and jewels, concubines in the harem, and descendants of the royal family. Hu Hai created a bloody massacre right after ascending the throne, to maintain the throne and conceal the crime of forging a will to establish himself as the Second Emperor (Emperor to the Second Generation), with the help of two accomplices, Prime Minister Li Si and Zhao Gao.

The Tomb of the Only Real Warrior

Also buried in the mausoleum are thousands of terracotta warriors that Qin Shi Huang painstakingly prepared years before his death. However, remarkably, the survey also found a single tomb containing the remains of a real warrior.

The documentary shows that to the west of the excavation site, near the mound containing the tomb of Qin Shi Huang, the excavation team found a series of other tombs. Among them, there was a rare tomb that had not been visited by robbers.

The tomb of the only real warrior in the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang. Photo: Netflix

Jiang Wenxiao - the excavation team leader shared: "The coffin is very badly decayed, but the tomb owner is still there. Many weapons were excavated in the tomb, including armor, crossbows, and spears." It is the tomb of a real warrior from the Qin Dynasty.

Thousands of terracotta warriors have been found in Qin Shi Huang's tomb, but this is the only real warrior. Archaeologists believe that this person must have been very important and close to the Emperor.

The warrior's identity could be the key to understanding what happened after Qin Shi Huang's death.

Mystery of identity

Dr. Ly Tu Tran - Chinese archaeologist was brought in to examine the strange artifacts found in the coffin, thereby discovering more about the identity of the tomb owner.

Many strange and never-before-seen objects were discovered in the tomb, such as a golden camel statue or a dancing person statue... In addition, there were also many "half-tael" coins, proving that the tomb owner was one of the richest people of that era.

A rare tomb that has not been visited by robbers, containing many valuable and meaningful artifacts. Photo: Netflix

Indications suggest that the warrior was buried here after the death of Qin Shi Huang and before the fall of the Qin Dynasty. From there, the list of candidates was narrowed down.

Faced with the large coffin that had rotted over time, Jiang Wenxiao suggested moving the entire coffin to a lab (specialized research room) to be disassembled piece by piece without affecting the quality of the artifacts inside. They hoped to find seals in the coffin to determine the identity of the tomb owner.

Previously, the excavation team took samples of the exposed bones to determine the warrior's age and check whether he was related to Qin Shi Huang.

The tomb was moved to the lab before being dissected for study. Photo: Netflix

If the mysterious warrior was a high-ranking official in the imperial court, then he could be one of the two masterminds behind Qin Shi Huang's death - Zhao Gao or Li Si.

However, the examination of the bones showed that the tomb owner was a very young man, only about 18-22 years old. This led archaeologists to believe that the tomb owner was likely one of Qin Shi Huang's princes.

According to Sima Qian's "Historical Records", when Hu Hai planned to massacre his siblings, one of the princes - Prince Gao - had the chance to escape but did not. He was afraid that his family would be implicated, so he made a bold decision.

Prince Cao sent a letter to the Emperor, expressing his wish to commit suicide to follow the late Emperor. His only request was to have his remains buried in a mausoleum at the foot of Ly Son Mountain.

Hu Hai was very happy when he read Prince Cao's letter. The new emperor not only agreed to his request but also rewarded him with 100,000 coins to bury with him.

Prince Cao sent a letter asking to die with the late Emperor. Photo: Netflix

The warrior tomb in the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum is most likely that of Prince Gao. Photo: Netflix

If the "Historical Records" are correct, Prince Gao's body was buried somewhere in the mausoleum, but has not been found.

All of this suggests that the warrior in the tomb is most likely Prince Cao. However, to be certain, archaeologists must find a seal confirming the identity of the person in the tomb.

Therefore, the excavation process, finding the seal and identity of the only real warrior in the tomb of Qin Shi Huang is still underway...

Source: https://laodong.vn/van-hoa-giai-tri/bi-an-ve-mo-chien-binh-nguoi-that-duy-nhat-tim-thay-o-lang-tan-thuy-hoang-1356730.ldo