The Chinese archaeologist credited with discovering the emblematic ancient Terracotta Warriors, Zhao Kangmin, has died aged 82, state media said. Zhao was the first archaeologist to identify fragments of terracotta found by local farmers digging a well in 1974 as relics dating back to the Qin dynasty and the first to excavate the site. "The commune supervisor told us that heads and partial torsos of six to seven terracotta figures had been found by men digging a well. Someone had taken one of the heads home and stuck it in a granary to chase away rats," Zhao wrote. Zhao ordered the farmers to collect the broken terracotta pieces and pile them on to three trucks, which he took to his small museum.

Source: The Nation Bangkok May 19, 2018 09:45 UTC