Owner of millennium-old Qin Tomb remains mysterious

A second phase of excavations at the Qin Tomb complex in Xi'an, in northwest China's Shaanxi Province has wrapped up. The two year effort uncovered the remains of rare animals and a six-horse carriage. But archaeologists remain puzzled about the identity of the tomb's occupant.

The millennium-old tomb located in the southern outskirts of Xi'an. It has a regular arrangement - over 500 meters long and a bit more than 300 meters wide. The tomb was discovered by chance three years ago.

It's the largest Qin tomb from the Warring States period,ever discovered.

The carriage remains unearthed from the tomb reveal a six-horse carriage. There are no historical records of carriages of the type during the Warring States Period. Carriages like this were exclusive to emperors of the Han Dynasty. Experts assume the owner of the tomb in Xi'an to be of noble blood.

Archaeologists also uncovered another chamber associated with the principal tomb. In this second chamber, animal remains were discovering, showing that rare species such as leopard, bear and ape were buried alive there.

Archaeologists are hopeful the identity of the tomb's owner will be revealed in further explorations.