Robbery attempt at imperial cemetery
October 25th, 2011 - 8:57 pm ICT by IANS
Beijing, Oct 25 (IANS) Nine people have been arrested in central China for trying to rob a 2,000-year-old cemetery dating back to the Qin dynasty, Xinhua reported Tueday.
The robbers allegedly used explosives to create a 19-meter-deep tunnel to reach an underground tomb in the cemetery, police said.
But priceless relics in the tomb were safe as the robbers failed to blast through the final wooden wall surrounding the complex.
The cemetery of Qin Shihuang, the first emperor of the Qin state in 221 BC, is located in Fengxiang county of Shaanxi province. It covers an area of 20,000 hectares and houses a total of 49 tombs.
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Tags: beijing, central china, deep tunnel, emperor, explosives, hectares, imperial cemetery, old cemetery, priceless relics, qin dynasty, qin shihuang, robbers, robbery attempt, tombs, underground tomb, xinhua