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Published: December 11th 2011
Xi’an is a city of 4.5 million people, 8000 unearthed terra cottawarriors and 2 Canadians (namely Daniel & I). We had the opportunity to visit this massive army that is frozen in time; poised and ready for battle to defend their Emperor in the afterlife. Below are a few fast facts that we learned while visiting the warriors. Ensure to take these “facts” with a grain of salt… at times numbers and dates are commonly lost in translation from Mandarin to English; however the size of this intimating terra cotta army is undeniable.
D & K’s Fast Facts on the Terrcotta Warriors
The army of warriors was discovered in 1974 by a farmer digging a well 1.5 meters below the surface.
The first warrior he discovered was a ‘Kneeling Archer’ and to date it is the only warrior that has been exhumed 100%!i(MISSING)n tact.
There are four types of warriors within the pits: General, Archer, Officer & Cavalry as well as two types of horses (Chinese and Mongolian).
No two warriors have the same face.
It took about 8000 people approximately 4 decades to create the army of warriors and build Emperor
US and the Army!!!
Overlooking Pit #1Qin’s tomb all of whom were killed after completion so that the location would remain a secret.
Emperor Qin died unexpectedly at age 55 therefore some of the warriors were not complete… most commonly the statues are missing their heads.
The warriors were constructed in three pieces… the legs (which are solid), the body/bust (which are hollow) and lastly the head (which are all one of a kind and replicated after many of the slave craftsman. Also hollow).
Pit #1 has 6000 warriors within it. To date 2000 have been exhumed and repaired.
Within Pit #1 there is a section of 56 unique warriors that look completely different in size, dress and ethnicity. It is believed that because Emperor Qin united China during his reign he commissioned these 56 warriors to represent the 56 minority peoples within the newly united nation.
The warriors stand approximately 1.5-1.8 meters in height however; people were rarely taller then 1.5 meters in height during the time of their creation.
It is believed the warriors were built in 210BC and the purpose behind the creation of the army was that they would protect the Emperor and his tomb in
The 'Kneeling Archer'
The 1st warrior discovered and the only one to date that is 100% in tact! the afterlife.
Each warrior wielded a weapon depending on their rank. All the weapons (bow, arrows, spears, swords, etc.) were made of solid bronze.
After the untimely death of the Emperor the tomb was quickly sealed and the massive army of warriors were buried. An uprising followed and the Qin Dynasty as overthrown. Shortly thereafter the newly formed Han Dynasty looted the tomb and raided the underground army mainly to remove the items of value. It was then that the majority of the bronze weapons were removed and the statues smashed and destroyed.
Currently 3 pits are available to view which is home to more then 8000 warriors. It is known that more pits exists however; they are yet to be excavated and unearthed. Today the warriors and their underground world is one of the worlds most astounding archaeological discoveries AND one the most complex puzzles, taking years of man hours to put each warrior painstaking back together. It is believed what is currently unearthed in the 3 pits will take at least 5 more decades to complete… putting each warrior back together…. piece by piece!
Emperor Qin, in all is insanity (it is believed that
A General
Terracotta Army the daily “medicine” he took for longevity in life and good health was actually a combination of toxic mercury and herbs caused his mental health to deteriorate and ultimately his early death), was not only was the mastermind behind the massive army he was also the visionary who started the construction of ‘The Great Wall”.
Until next time…
(Scroll down to the very bottom for more pics...)
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