The discovery was made by a farmer in Xianyang, and 27 tombs dating back to the Han (206 B.C.-220) and Tang (618-907) dynasties were found. The farmer found a great amount of bones scattered underground on a piece of land near the Yangling Mausoleum when he dug a reservoir.

Further excavation showed that the place had been a graveyard for more than 10,000 mausoleum builders, whose heads and bodies were buried in different places.

Archeologists have unearthed 29 prisoners' tombs on the 80,000 square meter graveyard. No coffins were found inside the tombs. Many bore marks of hacking on their waist or neck and shackles can be seen everywhere in the graveyard.

Jiao Nanfeng, head of the archeological team, said the discovery proves that Emperor Jingdi of the Han Dynasty was as cruel as other feudal rulers though he brought about a period of great prosperity during his rein by increasing production and reducing the burden of the common people.

Four years after Jingdi came to the throne, he forced prisoners from all parts of the country to build his tomb. During the 28-year toil, many were killed either for resisting or for trying to escape.

The mausoleum was unearthed in September 1999. Many pits associated with the emperor's tomb contain large quantities of colored pottery animals as well as terra-cotta warriors and horses.

"This is the largest collection of pottery animals ever unearthed since the founding of the People's Republic of China," said Zhao Dequan, vice-governor of Shaanxi.

(People's Daily)