The Terracotta Army

The Terracotta Army
     In 1974, workers digging a well outside the city of Xi'an, China, struck though the earth and hit a life-changing discovery: one out of 7,000 life-sized Terracotta soldiers poised for battle. They notified the government, which dispatched archeologists to the site that would uncover one of the most famous archaeological discoveries ever: Emperor Qin's Terracotta Army.
     Qin Shi Huang, the emperor who created the Terracotta Army, began his rule in 246 BCE. His birth name was Ying Zheng, but upon taking the throne he took the name Qin Shi Huang, which means the first emperor of Qin. During his rule, Qin did many important things such as standardizing coins, weights, and units of measurement. He also created canals and roads between the states for easier traveling, is credited for the first version on the Great Wall of China, and came up with the idea of the Terracotta Army.
     Shortly after he began his rule, Qin commissioned an enormous tomb filled with everything he would need for the next life, including a vast army, terra cotta sculptures, life-sized figures of acrobats, dancers and other entertainers, and valuable artwork. This mausoleum is located at the base of Mount Li, and many rooms, hallways, and offices filled with valuable artifacts. Four experimental pits have been dug around the tomb itself to see these artifacts. Three pits are filled with Terracotta soldiers, from generals to infantry, in battle formation. The construction of the mausoleum was never completed, so the fourth put was never filled and is still empty today.
     Even though the parts surrounding tomb have been thoroughly explored, the emperor's tomb itself has not been opened. However, using remote-sensing technology, Chinese archeologists have probed the mound on top of the tomb and discovered that it contains four stair-like walls designed to house the emperor's soul. According to Siam Qian's (a Chinese historian) writings,  "The tomb was filled with models of palaces, pavilions and offices as well as fine vessels, precious stones and rarities." The archeologists have not broken into the tomb because doing so may damage these treasures, and set off a booby trap that is mentioned in one of his other writings. It is apparently rigged with crossbows and washed by rivers of toxic mercury, and therefore may even be dangerous to open.
     The Terracotta warriors are all extremely detailed, and even have real, brand-new (brand-new when they were buried), weapons. These weapons include bronze swords, halberds, crossbow triggers and nearly 40,000 arrowheads, which were bundled in groups of a hundred to fit in a quiver. Archaeologists are still speculating about how the 7,000 warriors were manufactured. The two most popular theories are that each statue was based off of an actual soldier, and that the statues were put together in a Mr. Potato Head-like fashion (separate limbs put together). They are completely life-sized, and also differ depending on the rank in the army. Each rank of warrior has a different hairstyle, height, and uniform. The sheer number of these statues is incredible and extremely intriguing. It is said that it took about 700,000 workers to create the entire Terracotta Army and necropolis in which they resided. Overall, the Terracotta Army and Qin's tomb are fascinating artifacts that were perfectly preserved for hundreds of years underground.

-Claire Young