45 Shaanxi graves may reveal real Terracotta Warriors  

秦陵东部发现45座秦墓 墓主疑为兵马俑制造者(图)

记者从陕西省考古研究院了解到，在配合关中环线天然气管线调峰工程中，考古工作者在西安临潼区马额街道办事处冢王村西南清理发掘了一处古墓葬群，墓主人或许就是当年修建兵马俑的工作人员。在陪葬器物中，出现了“丽”字陶文。专家认为，这说明墓主人应当和丽邑有关，相当于现代的“工程指挥部”。[查看全文]

The 45 graves excavated last year in Shaanxi Province are assumed to be the tombs of the handicraft men who once created the world-acclaimed Terracotta Warriors discovered near the mausoleum of China's first Emperor Qin Shihuang (260-210 B.C.) in the province's suburbs.

Five kilometers east to the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang, the 45 graves are filled with the evidence of curled legs, a unique pose of those deceased buried during the Qin Dynasty.

In spite of the comparatively low social statuses demonstrated by the small scale and meager decoration of the graves, the potteries discovered there are inscribed with the Chinese character "li" (丽), which indicated that the owners of the tombs hailed from Liyi Town, a place used to accommodate numerous craftsmen and construction workers who were designated to build the mausoleum of Emperor Qin.

Although the identities of the tomb owners still needs to be confirmed, Sun Weigang, deputy researcher with the Shaanxi Province Archaeological Research Institute, said the character "li" is an important factor in solving the graves' mystery.

According to the "Shi Ji" or "Records of the Grand Historian," Liyi Town was built in 231 B.C., right near the mausoleum, with some 30,000 families moving in.