This week, Amber and Anna delve into the massive site of the first Chinese Emperor's burial complex. Were there flowing rivers of mercury? Maybe. Are there thousands of terra cotta soldiers? Definitely. Do we understand how metal detectors work? Kind of! Plus, some thumb-related Art Crime, and Anna finally apologizes for attributing Hey Ya to Snoop Dogg when it is absolutely by Outkast. How embarrassing. WARNING: Episode contains spoilers for Waiting for Godot.

Links

• Who was the Chinese emperor behind the terra-cotta warriors? (National Geographic)
• The Mercury Rivers of Emperor Qin Shi Huang (Skeptoid)
• Flowing rivers of mercury (Chemistry World)
• Mercury and health (World Health Organization)
• Making the Warrior: The Qin Terracotta Soldiers in Age of Empires (The Met)
• Chinese terra cotta warriors had real, and very carefully made, weapons (Washington Post)
• What You Need to Know About the Terra-Cotta Warrior's Stolen Thumb (National Geographic)
• The army that conquered the world (BBC Culture)
• The Secret Tomb of China's 1st Emperor: Will We Ever See Inside? (LiveScience)
• Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor (UNESCO)
• Surface chromium on Terracotta Army bronze weapons is neither an ancient anti-rust treatment nor the reason for their good preservation (Nature)
• Archaeologists Excavate 200 More Chinese Terracotta Warriors (Smithsonian)

Contact

• Email the Dirt Podcast: thedirtpodcast@gmail.com

Affiliates

• Wildnote
• TeePublic
• Timeular