The formidable weapons of the Terracotta Army of Qin Shi Huang's tomb

The Terracotta Army in the tomb of Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang is famous not only for its life-like size but also for its weapons that can kill any enemy.

According to Ancient Origins, in 1974, Chinese archaeologists announced a shocking discovery: 8,000 terracotta warriors buried with Emperor Qin Shi Huang in Xi'an.

Terracotta Army in the tomb of Qin Shi Huang.

Nearly three decades after the initial discovery, researchers learned that the weapons of the Terracotta Army were real, not replicas. The weapons were exceptionally sophisticated for the time, including bows and arrows powerful enough to pierce enemy armor.

The Terracotta Army, which dates back some 2,200 years, was discovered alongside a 50-square-kilometer mausoleum complex. It is one of the largest mausoleums in the world, built to prepare for the afterlife of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor to unify China.

Intact weapons were found with the terracotta army.

Researchers believe that the purpose of creating the terracotta army was to ensure the emperor's safety on his journey to the afterlife. According to the journal Archaeology International, more than 40,000 bronze weapons were found with the warriors.

Arrowheads are the most common weapon recovered by archaeologists. They come in bundles of 100, representing the number of arrows in an archer's quiver.

Each bow consisted of a triangular, pyramid-shaped shooting head, a shaft that held the arrow to a bamboo or wooden frame, and a feather attached to the end. The metal parts of the bow, such as the arrowhead and shaft, are the only parts that have survived intact to this day.

The oldest crossbow was discovered inside the tomb of Qin Shi Huang.

Scientists at the University of London and the Terracotta Army Museum recreated the arrowheads and fired them with a crossbow from the period. The results showed that the arrows easily penetrated armour worn in 200 BC and could have caused fatal injuries.

"These bows and arrows are far beyond their time," said Mike Loades, a historian and expert on modern weapons.

According to Vietnamnet