Ancient crossbow unearthed

Archaeologists in Shaanxi province have, for the first time, found a complete ancient crossbow, known as a gong nu, that dates from the Warring States Period (475-221 BC).

The weapon was unearthed during excavation work at the No 1 pit of the Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses collection in Xi'an, the provincial capital.

"We found a number of gong nu in the pit during past excavations, but they were all broken into pieces without qings (a type of protection device)," said Shen Maosheng, excavation team leader and archaeologist at the Emperor Qinshihuang Mausoleum Museum in Xi'an.