The Unopened Tomb of the First Emperor
China's first emperor lies under a mound that has never been opened, said to hold rivers of mercury.
What was reported
Qin Shi Huang, who unified China in 221 BC, was buried near present-day Xi'an under a great earth mound. The terracotta army, found by farmers digging a well in 1974, was buried in pits about 1.5 km to the east as part of the same complex.
The historian Sima Qian, writing about a century after the burial, described a tomb chamber with a model of the empire, rivers and seas of flowing mercury, a ceiling set with the stars, and crossbows rigged to shoot intruders.
Explanations offered
Soil tests on the mound have found unusually high levels of mercury, suggesting Sima Qian's account may be partly true. Chinese authorities have decided not to excavate the tomb until it can be done without damaging what's inside, so what lies there is still unknown.
- When
- Built around 246–208 BC
- Where
- Lintong, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
- Witnesses
- The historian Sima Qian, writing about a century later
- Status
- Never opened
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.