# Will anything of interest be found in the tomb of Qin Shih Huangdi?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-anything-of-interest-be-found-in-the-tomb-of-qin-shih-huangdi/673679
**Category:** Great Debates
**Created:** [November 11, 2013, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-anything-of-interest-be-found-in-the-tomb-of-qin-shih-huangdi/673679 "2013-11-11T22:03:28Z")
**Posts on this page:** 19
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [November 11, 2013, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-anything-of-interest-be-found-in-the-tomb-of-qin-shih-huangdi/673679/1 "2013-11-11T22:03:28Z")
I ran [this GQ thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=273053) back in 2004 asking why [the tomb](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mausoleum_of_the_First_Qin_Emperor) of China’s [First Emperor](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qin_Shi_Huang) had not been excavated (it **still** has not been excavated, though there has been much excavation of the land all around the tomb-hill).
I did not realize at the time that [the tomb was looted after the Emperor’s death, and more than once](http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/atam/115132.htm).
> [@](#):
>
> The wondrous monument made by the laboring people of ancient China was destroyed in the war-tom years of the late Qin Dynasty. According to Commentary on The Canon of Rivers, Xiang Yu (232-202 BC) led his 300,000 soldiers to loot all the burial articles in the tomb and set many architectural structures on fire. The great fire lasted for three months. Later a shepherd went into a cave of the mausoleum, dug by Xiang Yu, to look for his sheep with a torch in his hand and a second fire was ignited to burn away all the remaining tomb structures inside and out.
>
> Wen Tao, a warlord of the Five Dynasties (907-960), emptied the mausoleum again under the pretext of raising funds for soldiers’ pay and provisions. What was left then were scattered rubble and scorched earth in evidence of Xiang Yu’s burning and looting.
So, is there even anything left to dig for? Even the Emperor’s body?
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### Author:  [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)
#### Post date: [November 11, 2013, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-anything-of-interest-be-found-in-the-tomb-of-qin-shih-huangdi/673679/2 "2013-11-11T23:44:30Z")
Probably a whole lot of postings…
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### Author:  [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2013, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-anything-of-interest-be-found-in-the-tomb-of-qin-shih-huangdi/673679/3 "2013-11-12T00:35:31Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#):
>
> So, is there even anything left to dig for? Even the Emperor’s body?
I had vaguely heard of the first instance of pillage/destruction, but not of the others. I also didn’t know that the first instance was so complete.
Nevertheless, I decided to ignore this information and keep dreaming of the marvelous contents of this tomb. 😉 Which won’t be opened in my lifetime anyway, if I go with China’s official statements.
You should refrain from posting such depressing pieces of info.
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### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2013, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-anything-of-interest-be-found-in-the-tomb-of-qin-shih-huangdi/673679/4 "2013-11-12T01:25:14Z")
> [@clairobscur](#):
>
> I had vaguely heard of the first instance of pillage/destruction, but not of the others. I also didn’t know that the first instance was so complete.
>
> Nevertheless, I decided to ignore this information and keep dreaming of the marvelous contents of this tomb. 😉 Which won’t be opened in my lifetime anyway, if I go with China’s official statements.
>
> You should refrain from posting such depressing pieces of info.
I recall an issue of _National Geographic_ from the 1970s about the recently unearthed [Terracotta Army](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terracotta_army). The descriptions (drawn from ancient Chinese sources) of the actual inside of the mausoleum (including a model palace, a map of the Empire with mercury for the rivers, the crossbow-deathtraps for tomb-robbers, etc.) were so wonderful that I’ve been waiting ever since for something like the “Treasures of Tutankamen” tour. ☹
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### Author:  [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2013, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-anything-of-interest-be-found-in-the-tomb-of-qin-shih-huangdi/673679/5 "2013-11-12T02:04:31Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#):
>
> I recall an issue of _National Geographic_ from the 1970s about the recently unearthed [Terracotta Army](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terracotta_army). The descriptions (drawn from ancient Chinese sources) of the actual inside of the mausoleum (including a model palace, a map of the Empire with mercury for the rivers, the crossbow-deathtraps for tomb-robbers, etc.) were so wonderful that I’ve been waiting ever since for something like the “Treasures of Tutankamen” tour. ☹
Me too. I guess we have about the same age (I’m 48).
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### Author:  [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2013, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-anything-of-interest-be-found-in-the-tomb-of-qin-shih-huangdi/673679/6 "2013-11-12T04:18:32Z")
The discarded corpse of Curtis LeMay?
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### Author:  [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2013, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-anything-of-interest-be-found-in-the-tomb-of-qin-shih-huangdi/673679/7 "2013-11-12T05:28:33Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#):
>
> I recall an issue of _National Geographic_ from the 1970s about the recently unearthed [Terracotta Army](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terracotta_army). The descriptions (drawn from ancient Chinese sources) of the actual inside of the mausoleum (including a model palace, a map of the Empire with mercury for the rivers, the crossbow-deathtraps for tomb-robbers, etc.) were so wonderful that I’ve been waiting ever since for something like the “Treasures of Tutankamen” tour. ☹
As someone every bit as wise as me once said, “Tests of soil samples from his mound have shown there to be 70 to 1500 PPB of mercury, a range from ‘not much’ to ‘a fair amount.’ It doesn’t sound like tons of mercury have leached into the soil but the site does seem to be contaminated. I’ll let some other saps breathe mercury-filled dust halfway around the world as they try to prove me wrong.”
[Were ancient tombs really booby-trapped? - The Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2217/were-ancient-tombs-really-booby-trapped)😉
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### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2013, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-anything-of-interest-be-found-in-the-tomb-of-qin-shih-huangdi/673679/8 "2013-11-12T05:45:25Z")
> [@dropzone](#):
>
> As someone every bit as wise as me once said, “Tests of soil samples from his mound have shown there to be 70 to 1500 PPB of mercury, a range from ‘not much’ to ‘a fair amount.’ It doesn’t sound like tons of mercury have leached into the soil but the site does seem to be contaminated. I’ll let some other saps breathe mercury-filled dust halfway around the world as they try to prove me wrong.”
>
> [Were ancient tombs really booby-trapped? - The Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2217/were-ancient-tombs-really-booby-trapped)😉
Well, yeah, but that just proves the story about the mercury-rivers might be true, not that there’s anything left of them in the tomb.
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### Author:  [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2013, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-anything-of-interest-be-found-in-the-tomb-of-qin-shih-huangdi/673679/9 "2013-11-12T14:16:24Z")
Maybe they’ll prove Qin Shih Huangdi died of polonium poisoning.
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### Author:  [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2013, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-anything-of-interest-be-found-in-the-tomb-of-qin-shih-huangdi/673679/10 "2013-11-12T14:34:47Z")
Yet another Doper who died too soon!
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### Author:  [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2013, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-anything-of-interest-be-found-in-the-tomb-of-qin-shih-huangdi/673679/11 "2013-11-12T14:35:30Z")
The fact is that most readily-identifiable tombs were looted, usually very soon after they were created.
Tut’s tomb escaped because of its relative obscurity - it was buried under debris from someone elses’ tomb - and even then, looters did break in before it was covered up.
Something as grand as the first emperor’s tomb was always almost certain to be looted.
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### Author:  [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2013, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-anything-of-interest-be-found-in-the-tomb-of-qin-shih-huangdi/673679/12 "2013-11-12T14:46:51Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#):
>
> Yet another Doper who died too soon!
Only the good die young.
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### Author:  [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2013, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-anything-of-interest-be-found-in-the-tomb-of-qin-shih-huangdi/673679/13 "2013-11-12T15:51:27Z")
The fact that he is posting here 2223 years after his death means we could find one hell of a WiFi setup in there.
or Google Fiber.
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### Author:  [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2013, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-anything-of-interest-be-found-in-the-tomb-of-qin-shih-huangdi/673679/14 "2013-11-12T16:17:38Z")
> [@Malthus](#):
>
> The fact is that most readily-identifiable tombs were looted, usually very soon after they were created.
>
> Tut’s tomb escaped because of its relative obscurity - it was buried under debris from someone elses’ tomb - and even then, looters did break in before it was covered up.
>
> Something as grand as the first emperor’s tomb was always almost certain to be looted.
Certainly. However, as with the Terracotta Army, there is going to be a lot that robbers just wouldn’t be interested in taking. Just the architecture of the tomb itself is going to be fascinating, even if it was burned, and is going to be a wonderful discovery. I only hope I’m alive still when they finally start excavation…it’s something that captured my imagination in the 70’s when a story about it came out and has been something I’ve thought a lot about since then. If I can live long enough for this and for someone to finally make it to Mars I’ll die happy. 😛
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### Author:  [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2013, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-anything-of-interest-be-found-in-the-tomb-of-qin-shih-huangdi/673679/15 "2013-11-12T16:24:24Z")
Non-serious answer: a friggin’ huge picture of Admiral Chester Nimitz.
Serious answer: the existence of the Illuminati will be confirmed because Qin Shi Huang’s tomb will have EXACTLY the same contents as Al Capone’s vault! Coincidence? I think NOT!
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### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2013, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-anything-of-interest-be-found-in-the-tomb-of-qin-shih-huangdi/673679/16 "2013-11-12T16:33:41Z")
> [@Alessan](#):
>
> Maybe they’ll prove Qin Shih Huangdi died of polonium poisoning.
Wouldn’t surprise me. By the end of his life he was gulping all kinds of purported immortality drugs. Taoist potions poisoned more than one emperor.
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### Author:  [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2013, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-anything-of-interest-be-found-in-the-tomb-of-qin-shih-huangdi/673679/17 "2013-11-12T16:41:47Z")
> [@XT](#):
>
> Certainly. However, as with the Terracotta Army, there is going to be a lot that robbers just wouldn’t be interested in taking. Just the architecture of the tomb itself is going to be fascinating, even if it was burned, and is going to be a wonderful discovery. I only hope I’m alive still when they finally start excavation…it’s something that captured my imagination in the 70’s when a story about it came out and has been something I’ve thought a lot about since then. If I can live long enough for this and for someone to finally make it to Mars I’ll die happy. 😛
If the person who makes it to Mars finds Qin Shih Huangdi’s tomb there, I will die confused. 😉
But yeah, there are already wonderful finds - the terracotta army. Hopefully, there will be stuff left behind as not valuable. Maybe if we are realy lucky, a side-tomb of one of his nobles will prove to be overlooked and unlooted - it’s possible.
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### Author:  [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2013, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-anything-of-interest-be-found-in-the-tomb-of-qin-shih-huangdi/673679/18 "2013-11-12T16:54:33Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#):
>
> The discarded corpse of Curtis LeMay?
The best possible reply. I salute you.
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### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [November 12, 2013, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-anything-of-interest-be-found-in-the-tomb-of-qin-shih-huangdi/673679/19 "2013-11-12T23:05:54Z")
> [@Malthus](#):
>
> If the person who makes it to Mars finds Qin Shih Huangdi’s tomb there, I will die confused. 😉
What? It’s obvious Chinese come from Mars. Look at the facts: Mars needs women. China needs women. Q.E.D.