Archaeologists studying China's famous "Terracotta Army" have uncovered what they believe to be a rare, life-size statue of a high-ranking military officer, local media report.
The highly adorned figure, discovered at the mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang in China's Shaanxi province, is only the 10th of its kind among the thousands of terracotta statues that have been unearthed at the site so far.
"These adornments on the high-ranking officers indicate how special they are," Xiuzhen Janice Li, an archaeologist at the University of Oxford and previously senior archeologist at the Emperor Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum, told Live Science in an email. "The style and colour of the adornments featured the aesthetic taste and social status symbols [of the time.]"
The figure was discovered alongside the remains of two chariots, three clay horses and two additional figurines, offering fresh insights into the organizational structure of the ancient army.
"The arrangement of the high-ranking officers in the military formation reflected the military strategy, such as [the] commanding system in the Qin dynasty," Li said.
The Terracotta Army was discovered in 1974 during the construction of a well in northwestern China. The find gave rise to one of the greatest archaeological discoveries in modern times: an army of thousands of life-size clay figurines located across three pits, dating back to the third century B.C.
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Fifty years after its discovery, archaeologists have unearthed roughly 2,000 terracotta warriors, although experts estimate there could be as many as 8,000 across the three sites, according to National Museums Liverpool in the U.K. The figures were buried with crossbows, spears and swords, and are thought to have been built to protect China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang (who lived from 259 B.C. to 210 B.C.) in the afterlife.
The newfound figures were discovered in Pit Two, which is believed to contain the army's cavalry. However, Zhu Sihong, head of the excavation project, said that the officer is the first high-ranking individual to have been discovered at this site, the South China Morning Post reported.
Military officers are distinguished by their head pieces and colorful, intricately patterned armor, state broadcaster CCTV reported. Their hands are usually clasped in front of them and their shoulder pads and armor are embellished with ribbons.
While these findings offer new insights into the military structure of the ancient army, many questions still remain. "The major question is who is the top general to control the whole Terracotta Army?" Li said.
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