Terracotta Warriors of Xian

This is a spatial representation of emperor Qin's tomb. Emperor Qin buried 8,000 terracotta warriors, all of which have unique faces, in order to take them into the afterlife. The warriors were buried a half mile away from the main part of the tomb, and other satellite timbs were found which contained acrobats, entertainers, and other characters. The soldiers were not found until the 70's, when a farmer's donkey accidentally stepped through the roof while walking to a well. The farmer is now 80 years old and still signs autographs for the souvenir shop.

Behind us you can see pit 1, where most of the army was found. Each pit was designated for specific types of soldier. The cavalry was in pit 2, and the generals in pit 3. The rest are found in pit 1.

Here you can see the reconstructed soldiers in the front, and parts of the pit that are as yet unreconstructed in the back. EmperorQin was not popular after he died, and this tomb was robbed of weapons. Fires were set, and the soldiers were broken. Also the roof collapsed over time and fused with the clay of the soldiers. The reconstruction is slow going and there is still a lot to do. Unfortunately, much of the reconstruction has stopped because when the soldiers are exposed to the air, the beautiful colors painted in the clay rapidly degrade. New methods are being researched to allow the reconstruction to continue.

Above are some reconstructed horses.

This is pit 3. Most of the heads are missing because these were separate, and thus were easily stolen.

One of each soldier type has been encased in plastic in the visitor area to allow people to see the faces up close. This is a kneeling archer.

An infantry soldier.

A 5 star general.

Cavalry.

Standing archer.

Two elaborate bronze chariots were also found buried in the pits. They are very detailed and still have functioning umbrellas.

A half mile away, this is the tomb of emperor Qin. This entire hill was constructed to cover the timb, so all that is at the top is a good view. There are accounts of the treasures which were buried with him, and also it is said that rivers of mercury were built into the tomb. Since very high levels of mercury have in fact been found in the soil, it is believed that these accounts are true. Fortuntely, mercury surveys indicate that the soil has not been disrupted, so it is believed that the tomb was never robbed. Archeologists have not yet found a way to deal with the mercury contamination of the site, so for now Qin's treasures remain a mystery. It is very interesting that the ancient Chinese beliefs are so similar to those of the ancient Egyptians. They both believed that anything buried would be taken along into the afterlife, and the hill tomb of emperor Qin is not so different from the pyramids. -Anna

The view from the tomb.