History
2200 years ago along side the 1st Emperor Qin Shi Huang Di, 8000 Terracotta Warriors were buried. The “Army” is made up of soldiers, horses, chariots, bowmen and archers, and each figure is life sized and each has a unique face and details. Approximately 700,000 workers and craftsmen took part in the construction of the 1st Emperor’s mausoleum, an effort that lasted more than 36 years.
Emporer Qin
Pit #1 was discovered in 1974 when local farmers in the Shanxi Provence were sinking a water well, Pits #2 an #3 were discovered in 1976 as a result of exploratory drilling by the Qin Figure Archaeological team. It is thought the warriors were created to protect the immortality-obsessed Emperor in the afterlife, the warriors are lined up in formation in the pits to protect the Emperor. A 4th Pit was apparently left empty by its builders, suggesting that the full tomb “army” was not completed before the Emperor’s death. Qin’s actual burial chamber at the center of the complex has yet to be excavated.
The tombs were looted less than five years after Emperor Qin’s death by a rival army, which set fire that destroyed the wooden structures housing the warriors, damaging most of them. The actual place where the fire began can still be observed at the pit today so visitors walking through the pit area can clearly see it.
Qin who died in 210 B.C. at the age of 50, created China’s first unitary state by conquering rival kingdoms. He built an extensive system of roads and canals along with an early incarnation of the Great Wall. He also unified measurements and established a single written language, currency and legal statutes.
