New evidence reveals the source of mercury in the mausoleum of the first Qin emperor Archaeological surveys in Xunyang City, in Ankang, Shaanxi province, have revealed the origins of the mercury found in the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang. Qin Shi Huang, China’s first emperor, is renowned for uniting China and for having commissioned a gargantuan burial site, a complex that took 38 years to build with 700,000 workers. The latest research suggests that the mercury in the emperor’s tomb could have come from Xunyang’s mines of cinnabar, an area with a longstanding mining and smelting history... More information: https://archaeologymag.com/2025/01/source-of-mercury-mausoleum-of-first-emperor/