The Terracotta Warriors

Last weekend I finally went to see the Terracotta Warriors. It is the biggest tourist attraction in Xi'an, and is considered the Eighth Wonder of the World. The Warriors were unearthed in the late 1970's by a farmer who was digging a well. What he discovered was the Mausoleum of the First Emperor of China. This emperor, Qin Shi Huang, employed 700,000 peasant workers to construct a massive underground tomb complete with a terracotta replica of his glorious military forces. Each soldier in the terracotta army has unique facial features. They also vary in height, hairstyle, and uniform according to their military rank. The clay warriors posses real weapons, the same used by Qin's army. The weapons demonstrate the sophistication of Chinese military technology at the time (200 BC). They were plated with Chromium to prevent rust and dulling, a process that did not emerge in Europe until 1850.

The Terracotta Warriors are spread across three pits. The pits very in size and character of what they contain. Many of the clay warriors are destroyed from tomb raiding in past centuries.

Entrance to Pit 2

I think Eighth World Wonder qualifies as a World Heritage Site

Pit 2 Preface

Viewing area inside Pit 2

The excavation grounds

Floor plan of Pit 2

Broken Warriors

More broken Warriors

Can you spot the face?

A bit about weapons

Chrome-Plating

Kneeling Archer

Human bones. Most likely the remains of someone who built the tomb.

Pit 3. Much smaller than Pit 2 but with the Warriors very much intact.

They look ready to jump on those horses.

Many of the emperors men were headless.

Pit 1. The largest and most famous pit of the Mausoleum.

Thousands of Warriors

Side view

Archaeologists are still actively studying the site nearly 40 years after its discovery

Proof that I actually went to the Terracotta Warriors

No trip to the Terracotta Warriors is complete without a visit to Snack City

I went to see the Terracotta Warriors and all I got was this lousy dead fox.