Discovered in 1974 by a group of farmers digging a well, Xian’s Terracotta Warriors (other names:Terracotta Army, Terracotta Soldiers)astounded the world with their artistry and sheer numbers. The terracotta army was constructed to guard the tomb of Emperor Qin Shihuang, the founding emperor of the Qin Dynasty, and the emperor who united China. The internet site of the Terracotta Warriors was turned into a museum. The Terracotta Warriors Museum contains four partial excavated pits named: Pit 1, Pit2, Pit3, and Pit4.
Xian’s Terracotta Warriors have shocked visitors ever since their discovery
Every exquisitely crafted warrior is unique
What makes the Terracotta warriors in Xi’an so remarkable is that each one is life size and unique? Every face is diverse and clothing and hairstyles have individual characteristics. Each soldier was armed with a real bronze weapon. The charioteers had fully functional wooden chariots pulled by terracotta horses. Archers, spearmen, infantry, charioteers, and generals have been excavated. When new each soldier was covered with paint and had the appearance of a real army of living men. So far over 700 warriors, 100 chariots, and 400 horses have been excavated from the four pits.
Horses and the remains of their chariots in Pit3
Pit3 of Xian’s Terracotta Warriors
In ancient times, the wood supported roofs over the soldiers collapsed crushing the army underneath. Due to the fact of this, no soldier has been found intact. The complete warriors that visitors see had been reconstructed from hundreds and occasionally thousands of shards painstakingly put back together. The excavations are extremely time-consuming. Every warrior is covered with bright paint, but as soon as the warrior is excavated and the terracotta begins to dry out, the pain flakes off and is lost forever. Since of this, Chinese officials have stopped the excavations until a means of preserving the paint is discovered.
This is the area where the warriors are pieced back together
Terracotta Warriors standing in formation as they have for centuries
Excavated near the mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shihuang were two miniature bronze chariots. The chariots are fairly big and are exact in each detail. They are copies of the Emperor’s personal chariots and each and every detail was reproduced in bronze. Everything from the driver’s weapons and personal adornments was reproduced. There is even a box filled with modest arrows to be fired by the miniature crossbow. In the building where the bronze chariots are displayed is where the Terracotta Warrior’s chariots were discovered. They had been made of wood and bronze. The wooden parts rotted away lengthy ago, but the bronze parts still exist and their workmanship is astounding.
Miniature horses in full harness await their emperor
The miniature chariots are perfect in each detail
It is really mind boggling to believe that this remarkable web site was built so long ago by such primitive tools and only to guard a tomb. In 1987, this archeological treasure was added to UNESCO’s World Cultural Heritage List.