The warriors saving Warriors

Together, these procedures help reduce the risks cultural relics face during excavation, transportation, restoration and storage.

The increasingly sophisticated system marks a new stage in the archaeological conservation of the Qin Terracotta Warriors, bringing excavation and preservation into a more closely integrated process.

Since the discovery of the Terracotta Warriors in March 1974, generations of archaeologists and cultural heritage conservators have worked to protect this remarkable legacy of ancient Chinese civilization.

Their work has helped bring surviving traces of the underground army's original colors back into view while using modern science and technology to deepen understanding of the Qin Dynasty and its extraordinary craftsmanship.

The Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, which includes the Terracotta Warriors pits, and is known as the "Eighth Wonder of the World", was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1987.