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An Integrated Geophysical and Archaeological Investigation of the Emperor Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum

¹The Department of Resources Engineering, Xi'an Shiyou University, Xi'an, 710065, China
²Center of Development and Research, China Geological Survey, Beijing, 100037, China
³Institute of Geophysical and Geochemical Exploration, Ministry of Land Resources, Hebei Province, 065000, China

Corresponding Author: Bingqiang Yuan; Email: yuanbingqiang{at}sohu.com

Integrated geophysical methods that included high-precision gravity, magnetic, electrical resistivity tomography, radioactive radon, and ground-penetrating radar surveys were used to investigate the underground palace of China's first Emperor, Qin Shi Huang, his Mausoleum, and its appurtenant structures (i.e., pits and tombs). Successful identification of the underground palace's distribution, as well as a thin-compacted wall and coffin chambers in the burial mound, as interpreted from analysis of the geophysical data, was corroborated by subsequent excavation. The effectiveness of the integrated procedures was also demonstrated on the known auxiliary pits and tombs adjacent to the main buried palace structure. These results are the most significant recent discoveries at the Emperor Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum, as well as the general mausoleum architecture in the Qin dynasty.