article_snippet: A 2,200-year-old crossbow which some experts believe could have been almost twice as powerful as a modern-day assault rifle has been discovered among the Terracotta Warriors.
article_snippet: The crossbow, which was found intact this week, could have shot an arrow up to 2,600 feet - about the length of nine football pitches, the People's Daily Online reported.
article_snippet: The discovery is particularly exciting as experts believe A 2,200-year-old crossbow which some experts believe could have been almost twice as powerful as a modern-day assault rifle may hold the secret to the success of China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang.
article_snippet: This is the first ever crossbow to have survived intact found from the Qin Dynasty .
article_snippet: The crossbow, which was found half-buried next to one of the terracotta statues, was discovered by archaeologists working at the site.
article_snippet: It is the first time archaeologists have seen a complete version of the weapon, although the first time archaeologists previously found 10 more broken crossbows in the same pit.
article_snippet: Some historians believe that analysis of a number of historical texts shows that the crossbow was  integral to several important military victories of the period.
article_snippet: Archaeological importance: Many weapons have been found in the pits, like these ones from 2006 .
article_snippet: The Qing helps explain how the crossbow was transported and stored, helping the crossbow to maintain the crossbow shape when not in use. '
article_snippet: We believe that not only in the Qin dynasty but perhaps during the entire Warring States Period they had a very complete system of weapons production, storage and transportation,' Shen Maosheng, the archaeologists' team leade,r told Central China Television. '
article_snippet: This discovery of the most complete Qin Dynasty crossbow, especially the Qing, provides us with new historical evidence for the follow-up study of the Terracotta, especially the study of the Qin dynasty military force.'
highlights_snippet: Intact crossbow was found byArchaeologists  .
  
highlights_snippet: Is the first complete crossbow ever found from the Qin Dynasty .
  
highlights_snippet: Archaeologists also discovered a 'Qing' - the bow's storage device .
  