The Terracotta Army

Today we learned about the history and significance of the Terracotta Army, aka Terracotta Warriors and Horses, a super large collection of life-size terra cotta sculptures in battle formations, reproducing the mega imperial guard troops of Emperor Qui Shi Huang (259-210BC), the first unified dynasty of Imperial China. It is the most significant archeological excavation of the 20th century, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a site to behold! What remains of the terracotta army are three, trench-like pits of soldiers, horses, and chariots. (A fourth pit has been found empty, probably remaining unfinished when Qin Shihuangdi died unexpectedly at age 49 in 210 BCE.)

In these pits stand approximately 8,000 soldiers, positioned according to rank, aligned in battle formations facing east. Each one is life-sized and unique. Although the main structure of the body was created in an assembly-line fashion, added details in the faces and hairstyles, as well as clothing and arm positioning, make no two terracotta soldiers alike. When originally placed, each soldier carried a weapon. While many of the bronze weapons remain, many others appear to have been stolen in antiquity. Pictures often show the terracotta soldiers in an earthy color, but each soldier had once been intricately painted. A few remnant paint chips remain; however, much of colours faded when the soldiers are unearthed by archaeologists. In addition to the terracotta soldiers, there are full-sized, terracotta horses and several war chariots.Read more