The Museum of Terracotta Warriors is only a part of the entire tomb.(Xinhua File Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

 

    The famous mausoleum was completed around 350 BC under the aegis of Persian rule. It did not survive after the 16th century. According to some archaeological research since the mid 19th century, led by C.T. Newton, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus had three major parts, which were a high platform at the base of the mausoleum, a spiral corridor and a pyramid-like top.

    The high platform and the spiral corridor are features common to both mausoleums. "However, we cannot assert that some relations indeed exist between the two mausoleums," concludes Duan.

    As a matter of fact, some other evidence suggests that there were interactions between the Qin Dynasty and other Western civilizations. Remains discovered in a 2,200-year-old worker's tomb, 2 kilometers east of the Mausoleum of Emperor Qinshihuang, near the Terracotta Warriors compound, corroborates this fact. A DNA detection of the remains led to a startling discovery. The remains could be linked to West-Eurasian genetic groups. This particular worker was probably part of the team of hundreds of thousands of laborers who had been employed to build the mausoleum.

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