The Terra Cotta Warriors

If you haven't heard of these, watch some more History or National Geographic specials! This entire place was sooooo awesome! And the history of it all is fascinating. Just keep in mind that when you see it on TV, it doesn't look anywhere near as big as it actually is!

How big is it?

BIG. B-I-G! Like more than one football field in size, plus there are multiple different sites of the warriors!

I get the picture. It's big.

On the way to the site, we stopped at a factory that makes little miniature terra cotta warriors in the same method that were used hundreds of years ago. They were actually made in molds and the details carved into them so each of the more than 8000 warriors has a unique face!

 

 

 

       

In 1974, a farmer named Yang Ji De  was digging a well. He is the person who discovered the Terra Cotta Warriors! 

Now this is one of the biggest sites for tourists, including Chinese people from different parts of China!

 

 The spot where the well was being dug is at the corner of Pit 1! If the farmer had been a little farther away, these buried statues may have remained hidden!

 Pits one, two, and three have been or are being excavated. They have a building over them that is climate controlled to help preserve the find. The paint on the warriors, unfortunately, disappears when exposed to the air.

Here are some highlights from the first, and largest, pit.

Whoa! And each of those soldiers is made by hand? And unique!

That's right. The faces on each soldier, the hair, even details on the clothing is different. It really is an army of soldiers!

That's amazing! And that they look so real and perfect.

Well, not all of them are perfect. A lot are actually broken. At the end of pit 1's building, they are still working on repairing and preserving the soldiers.

Pit 3 is a different building that is much smaller and had a lot of "officers" buried in it.

It seems a few officers have lost their heads!

You could say that, Spike. 

I think I just did, Captain.

 

Pit 2 has a lot of work still being done on it.  There are still big areas that haven't been excavated.

There is also a museum showing some of the other items found. This is a recreation of one of the wagons and horses buried.

So who made all of this?

 

They were made for the burial site of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. The army was supposed to protect him in the afterlife.

 

Where did he think he was going after he died? Where he needed an army?

 

Not sure! But it took approximately 700,000 workers to create it! And there's a lot more since it's believed the entire complex represents the imperial compound. The emperor's tomb is nearby but has never been excavated because documents describe rivers of mercury and a lot of other hazards in the tomb.