Mr. Ding Zhaozhong, a Chinese physicist, along with three other scientists, used a combination of modern technology and historically-based conjecture to estimate the depth of the underground palace of Shi Huang Mausoleum at between 500-1,500 m. However, these figures seem unlikely. If the underground palace was dug down to 1,000m, it would exceed the fall between the location of the tomb and the northern side of the Weihe River. In that case, it would not only have meant water would have leaked into the underground palace, but could have caused the Weihe River itself to flow into the underground palace.

According to the latest drilling results, the actual depth from the entrance hole of the underground palace to the bottom is about 26m..The depth of the earth's surface at the time of the Qin dynasty was about 37m. These figures are yet to be thoroughly tested and proved by archaeological exploration.

Mystery 2: How many doors are there in the underground palace?

In Sima Quin's Historical Records there is grim passage about the fate of workers trapped inside the mausoleum: "After the whole structure was completed and the coffins and funeral objects were placed inside, the inner, middle and outer tomb doors were suddenly closed and none of the craftsmen hidden inside came out again."

From this account it seems clear that the underground palace has three tomb doors, possibly arranged in a straight line.

All rights reserved. Reproduction of text for non-commercial purposes is permitted provided that both the source and author are acknowledged and a notifying email is sent to us.