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From WinkyPedia, the free encyclopedia that tells you what you already knew
The Terracotta Army is a collection of thousands of life-size clay soldiers buried as part of the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of a unified China, near Xi’an in Shaanxi Province. It dates from the late 3rd century BC.[1]
It was discovered in March 1974 by farmers digging a well. They were looking for water and found an army instead, which historians agree is the least expected result in the history of well-digging.
Archaeologists estimate that the pits contain more than 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses, and 150 cavalry horses, most of which are still buried.[2] The figures are estimated because nobody has been able to ask the army to number off. None of the 670 horses has ever needed feeding, making it the most economical cavalry ever assembled.
The soldiers vary in height according to rank, and their faces differ from one another, so that each of the 8,000 has, in a sense, been standing in the same queue for about 2,200 years without complaint.
The figures were originally painted in bright colours. Much of the paint flaked away soon after excavation, on contact with the dry air, so the army is now mostly the colour of its own name. Excavation has since proceeded slowly so that new finds keep their paint, making this one of the only armies ever held up by its paintwork.
The mausoleum, including the army, was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. The emperor’s burial mound, a man-made hill, has not been excavated.