Olden Moldies Doing WELL........
B E I J I N G, Sept. 19 — Mold growing on China’s
2,200-year-old terra cotta army is not a threat to
the famed statues, experts said today, refuting
reports that the fungus has caused some of the
warriors to decay.
More than 40 types of mold have appeared on dirt stuck
to the surface of some of the 8,000 life-sized figures of
warriors and horses, but they have done no damage to the
statues themselves, said Zhou Tie of the Terra Cotta
Warriors and Horses Museum, near the central Chinese city
of Xi’an.
Report False, Says Museum
Zhou said the museum has already removed most of the
mold by washing away the dirt, which attached to the
statues after they were buried in the tomb of China’s first
emperor, Qin Shihuang, who died in 210 B.C.
Zhou called false an earlier report by the state-run China
Daily that more than 1,400 of the statues were beginning to
erode because of the mold.
“There’s no danger. These sorts of molds are common at
these sorts of sites worldwide,” Zhou said. He said the blue,
white and yellow-colored molds did nothing more than
blemish the statues’ appearance.
The China Daily newspaper reported today that the
museum is seeking foreign help to combat the mold, signing
an agreement last week with Belgium-based Janssen
Pharmaceutical NV to provide 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds)
of chemicals to kill the mold.
Zhou said the chemicals were part of normal
preservation of the figures and not aimed specifically at the
mold, which the museum has been removing by washing
away the dirt on which the fungi thrive.
“You can say most of it is already gone,” he said.
Army Discovered by Farmers
Other experts agreed that the mold probably posed little
threat to the ancient statues, discovered by farmers digging
a well in the early 1970s.
“They have professionals there who should have no
problem handling this,” said Zhao Huacheng, an
archaeologist at Peking University.
The terra cotta army is one of China’s top tourist
attractions, and its discovery is among the most significant
archaeological finds of the last 30 years.
Qin, who conquered rival kings to create the first unified
Chinese empire around 220 B.C., is regarded as one of
China’s most ruthless rulers. His dynasty collapsed shortly
after his death.
The terra cotta army was buried around his tomb to
protect him in the afterlife. Ancient chronicles say his main
tomb contains a map of the universe made from precious
jewels and rivers of mercury. Although Chinese
archaeologists have located the main tomb, it has not been
excavated because they can’t afford to preserve its contents. |
