The founder of the Qin dynasty, who completed the construction of the Great Wall of China, prepared for death ahead of time: he built a huge tomb for himself, and several "smaller" crypts for servants and soldiers. Together with the emperor, 70 thousand workers were buried, along with their families. But the emperor did not kill the soldiers. Instead, he ordered artisans to create an army of terracotta, each warrior of which would have a real person as a prototype.
Despite the fact that Chinese historians are very careful about their cultural heritage, the terracotta army was somehow forgotten. Its discovery turned out to be an accident - in the summer of 1974, in the Shaanxi province, while digging a well, at a depth of 5 meters, a Chinese peasant stumbled upon one of the clay warriors. The find immediately aroused unprecedented interest among archaeologists, because the appearance of the statue made it possible to attribute the date of its creation to the period of deep antiquity. By the beginning of autumn of the same year, archaeologists discovered about 6 thousand of these warriors. The analysis showed that the time of the creation of the statues coincides with the years of the life of Qin Shi Huang, whose tomb, Mount Lishan, was located not far from the "burial place" of terracotta warriors.
The work of Sima Qian, a hereditary historiographer of the Han dynasty, who described the ascent to the throne in 246 BC, also helped to correlate the clay army with the founder of the Qin dynasty. NS. 13-year-old Ying Zheng, known to us as Qin Shi Huang. According to the historiographer, the young ruler immediately began building his own tomb and ordered the creation of an army of clay warriors who would serve him after his death.
All statues are copies of real people, retaining their facial features, uniforms, ranks, etc. The only thing that the sculptors changed was the growth of the warriors, making them slightly higher than real prototypes. The height of the statues of ordinary soldiers is approximately 180 cm, and of officers - up to 2 m, which expresses their superiority in rank. Archers, spearmen, swordsmen and even cavalry - Qin Shi Huang assembled a full-fledged army that completely copied the real-life military formations. Commanders of all ranks, up to generals, also followed their emperor to the “other world” in the form of clay sculptures. There were also found "civilian" statues - musicians, acrobats and officials.
The vast majority of the statues were facing east. Some stand relaxed, others knelt down and, drawing their sword from their scabbard, fend off the attack. The difference in status can be determined by the dress. The officers are dressed in tunics with belts and suits that look like uniforms. Ordinary soldiers are dressed in short, tapered trousers, short robes, breast armor. Their shoes are common to the ancient Chinese: windings and shoes with rectangular toes. Ordinary people also distinguish characteristic hairstyles in the form of a tight bun of hair.
The main excavations were carried out in two stages: from 1978 to 1984 and from 1985 to 1986. And in 2009, the third stage of excavations started, which continues to this day. Recent excavations have yielded an additional 500 clay warriors, 100 horses and 18 bronze chariots. And how much remains to be discovered is a question that remains unanswered. But why was the emperor's tomb in such a deplorable state?
After the death of Qin Shi Huang, the throne was inherited by his son Er Shi Huang, who was weak-willed and weak. As a result of his failure as a leader, a popular uprising broke out. And the first target of the rebels was the terracotta army. The reason for this was that the cunning Ying Zheng melted all surplus weapons, so that ordinary people could not get them anywhere. And in the crypt, for the needs of the clay warriors, an arsenal was kept for 8,000 people: swords, shields, spears and bows. As a result, the tomb was plundered, the imperial troops were defeated, and Er was killed. But the treasures of the emperor, which according to legend were buried with him, were never found. According to one version, the emperor was generally buried in another place, and Mount Lishan is just a decoration.
In 1987, UNESCO inscribed the Terracotta Army as a World Heritage Site in China. Today, everyone has the opportunity to watch the terracotta warriors "live". Around the excavation zone, a small town has grown up with cafes, souvenir shops and covered pavilions, where the terracotta army of Emperor Qin Shi Huang is displayed for all to see.
“If you die, you won't take anything with you,” says popular wisdom. But the first Chinese emperor did not think so, he intended to take everything that was possible to the next world. Even the army
In March 1974, in the Shaanxi province, one and a half kilometers from the majestic mound of the ancient Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang, local peasants were digging a well. They looked for water, and found a life-size clay head and torso. Later, archaeologists excavated and reassembled hundreds of statues of terracotta warriors and horses. The clay army, more than 2200 years old, became known as a new wonder of the world, after which its soldiers "traveled" half the world, attracting a record number of visitors to the museums where they exhibited. In 2006, they even “took to the stage” at the New York Metropolitan Opera as a set in Tan Dun's opera The First Emperor. The part of Qin Shi Huang, on whose orders the Terracotta Army was created, was played by the famous tenor Placido Domingo.
Reigning in the 3rd century BC NS. the first unifier of China (the name Qin Shi Huang adopted by him as a result of his conquests is translated as “the first heavenly ruler from the house of Qin”) desperately did not want to die. The ancient Chinese historian Sima Qian wrote that the emperor repeatedly instructed his subjects to find a potion that would give eternal life, and could not stand talking about death. However, the ruler also made sure that he did not need anything if he still had to go to the afterlife. Qin Shi Huang took with him to his grave "models" of his empire and palace, statues of officials, artists, servants. And an army of thousands of terracotta soldiers and officers.
Ideal state
The burial of the First Emperor is located according to feng shui: according to this teaching, you need to bury, as well as to settle, where the qi energy is retained, that is, between mountains and water
Terracotta Army
Castle. The ruins on the upper level of the Inner City are the remains of a palace that was used not for ceremonies, but for feasts and recreation. Such palaces were often built in ancient Chinese burial complexes.
Remains of caretaker houses. Officials lived here, whose duty was to maintain order in the burial complex.
Chariots. In a square pit, two bronze chariots with four horses were found - an open battle chariot (in the battle these were in the vanguard of the Qin army) and one equipped with a closed cabin (probably for inspection trips around the country). Chariots and horses are half their life size.
"Pond". Here were found clay figures of servants, musicians, as well as bronze statues of birds that live near the water: cranes (an ancient Chinese symbol of longevity), geese and swans.
Mound. Beneath it are the Qin Shi Huang tomb and the underground palace. What is in them is still a mystery: the authorities do not give permission for large-scale excavations, fearing to damage the treasure. Opening the embankment is unsafe: analysis of the soil revealed an increased content of mercury. Sima Qian wrote that by order of Qin Shi Huang Ti, a map of the empire was depicted on the floor of the tomb, and the "rivers" and "seas" on it were filled with mercury.
Builders' cemetery. More than a hundred graves, from one to 14 bodies in each. Ancient Chinese historians reported that more than 700 thousand people were sent to the construction. Worked here mainly state slaves, who fell into bondage for debts or misdeeds, or prisoners of war. When they were buried, pieces of tiles were laid on top of the remains with information about the deceased: name, place of residence, rank and the crime committed.
"Palace Menagerie". Statues of servants, bowls and collars, skeletons of wild animals and birds were found here. This is probably an imitation of a menagerie where rare animals were kept for hunting.
Pit of officials. There were found terracotta figures of officials with a height of 1.8-1.9 m and chariots, the remains of a wooden chariot and horse bones.
"Stable"- pits in which skeletons of imperial horses, ceramic vessels for food and statues of grooms were found.
Graves of the nobility. According to researchers, possible rivals of Qin Shi Huang's son, who were executed by him after coming to power: high dignitaries and half-brothers and sisters, are buried here.
Pits with acrobats. They contained 11 terracotta figures of acrobats and equipment for performances: tripods, spears, bronze vessels.
Constructive solution
Qin Shi Huang wanted something strange from his subjects: clay figurines were placed in the graves before him, but never before in ancient China were they made realistic life-size sculptures of people. Had to develop the technology of a new "mass production"
Each warrior has individual facial features, and the shape of the auricles also differs. Initially, the figures were brightly colored, the colors corresponding to the ranks and divisions.
Pits with terracotta army
They are located on the outskirts of the mound: clay warriors are, as it were, exhibited to defend it. The earthen walls of the pits were reinforced with wooden beams, the floor was paved with gray bricks, the floors over the premises were logs, mats were laid on them, a layer of clay to protect from water, and several layers of compacted earth. More than 8000 terracotta figures have been found in three pits, and this is not the limit. Since 1979, the Qin Shi Huang Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum has been opened here.
Stages of "production"
1 Modeling the body It was carried out by a tape method - from clay strips 2–4 cm wide and 2–7 cm thick. The body was made hollow to reduce the pressure on the legs.
2 Heads, arms and legs were made separately, in two-part forms according to the technology developed in the production of clay pipes and tiles. The heads were made hollow.
3 Assembly. The connection of the limbs to the body was fixed with clay strips.
4 Giving personality. A new layer of armor plates was applied to the body. The face was given special features. A mustache, beard, ears, hairstyle, and headdress were attached to the head.
5 Drying and firing. The figures were dried in the open air in the shade and then fired in ovens at 800–1200 ° C.
6 Painting. Paints were made on an egg basis from pigments of mineral origin.
7 Armament. The soldiers were given real military weapons, some of them managed to be in battle.
Pit layout
(1) Pit No. 1. The largest one has an area of 13,029 m 2. About 6,000 soldiers in battle formation, horses and chariots.
(2) Pit number 2- "Military Camp". Remains of chariots, figures of horses and soldiers.
(3) Pit No. 3- "Headquarters of the command". It has only one chariot with four horses, statues of officers and soldiers of the "guard".
(4) Pit No. 4 empty - perhaps they just did not have time to fill it.
"Construction of the century" number two
Under Qin Shi Huang, fortifications erected along the northern borders to protect against barbarians were united into the Great Wall of China (although the one that has survived to this day was mainly created during the Ming dynasty, XIV-XVII centuries). Qin Shi Huang loved to build, especially palaces. However, the Cyclopean projects drained the state and were a heavy burden on its inhabitants. In fact, the ruler literally took with him to the grave the greatness and prosperity of the empire he created: after the death of Qin Shi Huang in 210 BC. NS. uprisings broke out throughout the country. As a result, four years later, the dynasty, which according to his plan was to rule for 10,000 years, was overthrown.
Photo: Alamy / Legion-media (x2), Reuters / Pix-Stream, Diomedia, iStock (X4), Barcroft / TASS Photo Chronicle
You will find a complete list of 155 miracles that you need to see with your own eyes in the anniversary, December issue of Vokrug Sveta magazine.
Source- http://azialand.ru/terrakotovaya-armiya/
East of Xi'an, in the Shaanxi province, there is a military garrison of many thousands, this wonder of the world, known as - Emperor Qin Shi Huang's Terracotta Army ... The underground burials contain at least 8,099 terracotta statues of Chinese warriors and their horses. They were honored to be buried together with the first emperor of Qin - Qin Shi Huang in 210—209. BC
In the Xi'an district, Chinese farmers have long found clay shards, but they were afraid to touch them, let alone pick them up, as they believed that strange shards are magic amulets - the source of various troubles. But already in 1974 everything was explained.
History of the Terracotta Army
One day, the farmer Yan Ji Wang began to dig a well on his plot of land. He did not find water, but he found something else. Yan Ji Wang stumbled upon the figure of an ancient warrior at a depth of 5 meters. The find of the farmer shocked archaeologists. and subsequent excavations showed that she was not alone here. Several thousand warriors have been discovered by scientists. Terracotta soldiers have been buried in the ground for over 2,000 years since the death of the famous unifier of China, Qin Shi Huang.
Mount Lishan Is a man-made Chinese necropolis. The material for the terracotta warriors was taken here. The construction of the terracotta army began in 247 BC. e., more than 700,000 artisans and workers took part in their construction, and, as art historians assume, it took 38 years. Qin Shi Huang was interred in 201 BC. NS. According to the assumption of the Chinese historian Sima Qianyu, jewelry and artisan products were also buried with him.
Horses and warriors of the Terracotta Army in China were created in different areas. Scientists have found out that the horses were made near Lishan Mountain, most likely to facilitate their transportation (the weight of the horse is about 200 kg.), The figures of the warriors are much lighter, about 135 kg., But the place of their creation is still unknown.
Later, on the site of a grandiose find, a city arose. Three pavilions protect the terracotta burial army from bad weather and vandalism. The excavations of the terracotta horde have been going on for about 40 years, but their end is not expected.
Terracotta is yellow or red clay that has been fired at a constant temperature of at least 1000 degrees for several days.
Yang Ji Wang found Qin Shi Huang's first, main battle row, which contains approximately 6,000 terracotta figures. In 1980, archaeologists unearthed a second column of 2,000 statues. Later, in 1994, the General Staff was discovered - an accumulation of top military commanders.
About 700,000 craftsmen were involved in the creation of the imperial army. But why did the ancient Chinese need to spend energy and money to create this grandiose composition? And what other secrets does the land of this area keep?
The prolonged bloody period of the seven rival kingdoms ended with the unconditional victory of the Qin dynasty. The young and ambitious ruler Yin Ren subdued all the kingdoms one after another. Their capitals Zhao, Han, Wei, Yin, Chun and Qi were leveled to the ground. For the first time in history, China has achieved unity. Qin Shi Huang appointed himself emperor and immediately moved on to reforms and consolidation of power. He got down to business with the inherent sophistication and scope of a tyrant. He set himself the goal of eliminating any possibility of China's fragmentation and civil strife in the future. The Chinese Empire was divided into 36 districts; two governors (civilian and military) were appointed in each district. The emperor tightened all standards: it concerned money, measures of length and weight, writing, construction, and even the width of the axle for carts. The standard set in the Qin kingdom served as a model. The previous history of China was declared to be of little relevance. In 213 BC. books and ancient annals of the defeated dynasties were set on fire. More than 460 scientists were subjected to execution, who were suspected of disloyalty to the new imperial regime.
The Emperor believed that his dynasty would rule the Empire forever and therefore tried to create attributes befitting eternity. One of the results of the imperial thought about the eternal was the Great Wall of China.
Initially, the ruler wanted to bury 4 thousand young warriors with him, as the ancient Chinese tradition says, but the advisers managed to convince him not to do this. This barbaric act would inevitably lead to rebellion. Then they decided to bury clay statues instead of people. But for the sake of reliability, their number was increased. Their gaze was turned to the east, there were located all the kingdoms that suffered from the great tyrant.
Terracotta warriors were made with great jewelry, probably amazing diligence was inherent in their creators. In the entire retinue, you cannot find the same faces, because they simply do not exist. They reflect the multinationality of the Chinese empire, among them one can observe not only the Chinese, but also the Mongols, Uighurs, Tibetans and many others. The details of clothing and hairstyles correspond to their time. Armor and footwear has been reproduced with incredible precision.
The only difference from real people is their height. Their height is 1.90 - 1.95 meters. The army of the divine Qin could not have been that size. The finished sculpting was fired in kilns with a firing temperature of 1,000 degrees. After, the artists painted them with natural colors. A little faded paint can be seen today. However, after a few minutes spent in the air, the colors disappear.
The eleven aisles of the main line of warriors are separated by walls. Whole tree trunks were laid on top, covered with mats and 30 cm of cement, and on top of 3 m of earth. This was done in order to protect the deceased emperor among the living. But alas, the calculation could not meet their expectations, a few years later this mighty terracotta army was defeated.
Qin Shi Huang died and his son, the weak-willed and weak Er Shi Huang, became the ruler of the empire. His inability to manage caused a storm of indignation among people. The revolt of the people, which the advisers feared, nevertheless took place and there was no one to suppress it. The first defeat went to the terracotta army.
The indignant crowd plundered and burned the army, because the rebels had nowhere to get weapons. Its surplus was melted down and destroyed by Qin Shi Huang in order to avoid various incidents. Here, underground, there were 8,000 sets of bows, shields, spears and swords. They were the main targets of the rebels. Government forces were defeated. The son of the great emperor was killed by his own courtiers.
For centuries, robbers were eager to unearth treasures, some cost their lives. Amazingly, the terracotta soldiers kept the spirit of their ruler as best they could. They say that among the excavations were found human skeletons. Ancient manuscripts say that colossal treasures were buried with the divine Qing, including the golden throne. Qin Shi Huang was able to create intrigue with his riddles. And one of the versions suggests that he was buried in another place, and this is just a decoration. And if this is so, then the scale of a true burial can only be drawn in fantasy.
Removing the figures from the ground, archaeologists were puzzled by the problem - the paint instantly (5 minutes) dried and burst. And a solution was found - after various treatments (immersion in a container with a humid microclimate, coating with a special compound and irradiation), the soldiers are exhibited in museums around the world, now about 1,500 statues have been removed. There is a museum directly at the place of discovery, the first exposition was opened in 1979, but it appeared in all its glory in 1994.
Along with the Great Wall of China and the Shaolin Monastery, the Terracotta Army in China is on the list of the most famous landmarks around the world. If you are lucky enough to travel around Asia, specifically in China then be sure to check out the Xi'an Terracotta Army Museum.
The Terracotta Army of Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in China in 1987.
Video Terracotta Army
The terracotta army, discovered by peasants while drilling an artesian well in the village of Lintun in 1974, is considered one of the most amazing wonders of the world. More than 8 thousand clay warriors guarding the peace of the first emperor of the Qin Shi Dynasty Huangdi have kept their secrets for 2,200 years.
Each of the warriors (to date, a little over 1,500 sculptures have been removed from the ground by archaeologists) has its own unique features and is not like other soldiers.
Warriors differ from each other in appearance, posture, facial expression, as if each statue was molded from nature. Warrior statues are characterized by the subtlety of detail.
Everything, from the figure to the hairstyle, to the last hair, the lacing of clothes and even the stitch on the sole of the fabric sneaker, has been worked out with great care.
The statues of warriors and war horses are buried in three colossal crypts, numbered in the order of their discovery as b-1, b-2 and b-3. The depth of each crypt is 5 m.
Every 3 m, the crypt is divided by a load-bearing wall. The floor is paved with black bricks.
Terracotta warriors froze in battle formation of a rectangle, most of the figures are infantrymen. In the hands of the terracotta warriors of the head detachment - bows or crossbows, on the back - a quiver with arrows.
The lead detachment is followed by shielded infantrymen and war chariots. On the right and left flanks, side detachments took up positions. Three rows of the rearguard closed the formation of the terracotta army.
Looking at the orderly battle formation of the statues of warriors, horses and chariots, it seems that they are about to rush into battle. Having come to power, Shi Huangdi was able to put an end to the internecine wars between the Terracotta army and the Chinese kingdoms, and in 221 BC. NS. proclaimed himself the first emperor of the Celestial Empire. Qin Shi Huangdi at the age of 39, created the first centralized state in the history of China and founded the Qin dynasty. The feudal system of centralized power he created was inherited by all subsequent Chinese dynasties.
During the reign of Qin Shihuang, the Chinese writing, the monetary system, the system of measures and weights were unified, the construction of the Great Wall began and a single network of state roads was created, which had a huge impact on the development of China during subsequent dynasties.
Soon after Qin Shi Huandi seized power, he began to build himself a huge underground mausoleum, covering an area of 8 square meters. km inside 225 sq. km of the burial site. While an ordinary person could be buried in a small adobe structure, the emperor had a burial vault as full as his army, as it might be needed after death.
Qin Shi Huang's terracotta army guards him from the eastern flank - this is the only direction in which enemies could attack his capital Xi'an.
In the course of archaeological research, it was found that the complex of the tomb in the plan is a square with a side of 7.5 km with a total area of 56.25 sq. km.
The first stage of excavation took place from 1978 to 1984, the second - from 1985 to 1986. On June 13, 2009, the third stage of excavations began.
There are 3 capitals most famous for their ancient values in the world - these are Rome, Athens and Xi'an. In the latter city, the ancients raised a whole army, the purpose of which was to guard the tomb of the emperor. More than two thousand years have passed, and the immovable soldiers all stand, silently fulfilling their mission. All the figures are made so realistically that you involuntarily doubt that they are made of clay: each has its own facial expression. At the same time, absolutely everyone is different - there is not a single soldier who would be similar to another.
The location of the terracotta army
The famous Terracotta Army is one of the landmarks of Xi'an Province, located near the city of Lintong. The army accompanies the burial of Emperor Qin Shi Huang (it was on his initiative that they began to build the Great). There is no doubt that the purpose of this army was to protect the emperor and fight for him in the Kingdom of Death.
Until today, 8,000 figures have been found in underground halls or pits. Infantrymen, archers, crossbow arrows, cavalrymen, military chariots with horses are lined up in battle formation. The height of the warriors is from 1.6 to 1.7 meters, and neither one is like the other. All in different poses - someone stands like a pillar, someone holds a sword, as if repelling an attack, and someone, kneeling, pulls the bowstring. The statues themselves are hollow, except for the legs, otherwise they would not have been able to withstand that long. Previously, the entire army was painted in bright colors, but over time, the paint, of course, faded.
Not all figures of warriors depict the Chinese, there are also Tibetans and so on. All details of clothing or hairstyles strictly correspond to the fashion of that time. Everyone has their own weapons, by the way, many of them are not made of stone, but the most worthless. True, most of the swords and bows were stolen back in ancient times by marauders.
History of the Terracotta Army
In 246 BC, after the death of King Chuang Xiang-wang, his son Ying Zheng, known in history as Qin Shi Huang, came to the throne of the Qin kingdom. By the middle of the 3rd century BC, the Qin kingdom occupied a rather vast territory. By the time of accession to the throne, Ying Zheng was only thirteen years old, before his majority, the state was actually ruled by the first adviser to the king, Lü Bu-wei.
In 230 BC, Ying Zheng sent a huge army against the neighboring kingdom of Han. The Qin defeated the Han troops, captured the Han king An Wang and occupied the entire territory of the kingdom, turning it into a Qin district. This was the first kingdom conquered by the Qin. In subsequent years, the Qin army captured the kingdoms of Zhao, Wei, Yan, and Qi.
By 221 BC, the Qin kingdom had victoriously ended its long struggle to unify the country. In place of disparate kingdoms, a single empire with centralized power was created. Since Ying Zheng became the first emperor of the Qin dynasty, he ordered himself to be called Shihuangdi - "the first highest emperor." Qin Shi Huang Ti was virtually unlimited head of state and was particularly despotic.
The first emperor did not doubt for a minute that his dynasty would rule forever, and therefore he tried to create attributes befitting eternity. The construction business was especially rapid development during the period of the empire. During his reign, beautiful palaces were built (the largest palace was the Efangun Palace, erected by Qin Shi Huang not far from the capital of the empire, on the southern bank of the Wei-he). In order to protect the outskirts of the empire from enemies, Qin Shi Huang decided to start building a grandiose structure - a defensive wall along the entire northern border of the empire, which is known to our contemporaries as the Great Wall of China.
In 210 BC, the almighty Qin Shi Huang passed away, his body was buried in a special mausoleum. A detailed description of the grandiose palace and the colossal embankment above it belongs to the father of Chinese history Sima Qian, the main court historiographer of the emperor. Over the course of 37 years, 700 thousand slaves, soldiers and forced peasants participated in the construction of the mausoleum. Records indicate that the perimeter of the mound was 2.5 kilometers, and its height reached 166 meters (now the preserved earthen mound resembling a pyramid is 560 meters long, 528 meters wide and 34 meters high).
Qin Shi Huangdi sincerely believed that he could rule his empire even from the other world. For this, he believed, he would need an army - this is how the terracotta army appeared. During his lifetime, the emperor wanted the clay idols to go with him to another world after his death, since he believed that the souls of the imperial soldiers would move into them (at least that's what an old Chinese legend says).
The warrior statues were made from casts of the elite bodyguards of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. The manufacturing technology was as follows. The main material for the statues is terracotta, that is, yellow or red fired unglazed clay. First, the torso was molded. The lower part of the statue was monolithic and, accordingly, massive. It is on her that the center of gravity falls. The upper part is hollow. The head and arms were attached to the body after it had been burned in the oven. Finally, the sculptor covered the head with an additional layer of clay and sculpted the face, giving it an individual expression. That is why each warrior has an individual appearance, authenticity of details of clothing and ammunition. The sculptor accurately conveyed the hairstyle of each warrior, which was the subject of special attention at that time. The firing of the figures lasted for several days, at a constant temperature of at least 1,000 degrees Celsius. As a result, the clay, from which the warriors were molded, became as strong as granite.
The tomb of the emperor stands 100 meters west of the pits with terracotta soldiers. Qin Shi Huang himself died in 210 BC, it is this date that should be considered the approximate date of the construction of the terracotta army. The tomb itself is also noteworthy. It is assumed that more than 70,000 people were buried together with the emperor: courtiers, servants and concubines, who could serve their master in another world as well as during his lifetime. Why was it "supposed"? The fact is that no one knows where to look for the entrance. It is very possible that those workers who built the tomb were then killed and buried there - so that the secret would never be revealed. And now the pyramid is under a large earthen rampart. By the way, the clay army would have been located under the same rampart if scientists had not dug it out.
It is not completely clear why the army and the tomb were buried under a large one. Scientists doubt that they were deliberately buried. Most are still inclined to a different version: most likely, it happened because of a large fire (traces of fire were found). Perhaps the robbers either could not get into the tomb, where, in their opinion, there should have been many treasures. Angry, they started a big fire. It is possible that they still got inside the tomb, and they needed the fire to eliminate the traces of the crime. One way or another, the fire led to a collapse, burying many thousands of clay troops in wet soil for more than two thousand years ...
Terracotta army today
Until 1974, the existence of the terracotta army was not even suspected. It was in this year that several peasants began to dig a well, but were forced to suspend their work - unexpectedly, right from the ground, they began to dig statues of soldiers in human height, except for people, horses and whole chariots appeared.
Of course, they stopped digging the well; archaeological excavations began here, and the most unusual ones in recent years. Thousands of soldiers and animals were taken out into the white light.
In total, 3 holes were dug, slightly distant from each other. The first contained statues of infantrymen, chariots and riflemen. This pit is the deepest - 5 meters, and its area is 229 by 61 meters. In the second, smaller pit, there were not 6,000 soldiers, as in the first, but only 100. The smallest depression hid 68 figures, apparently representing the command headquarters.
Nowadays, everyone can take a look at the terracotta army. True, only the first pit is reserved for the museum, but the main part of all the statues is located there. The museum shows video footage of the excavation, and other figures are on display, including two miniature bronze chariots harnessed with horses and half-size chariots. The latter were discovered in 1980 and represent exactly the vehicles used by the emperor, his concubines and the staff of the courtiers.
In order to further preserve this miracle, a pavilion with a vaulted ceiling was erected above the terracotta army. Its dimensions are 200 by 72 meters. In shape, it resembles an indoor pool or stadium.
The excavations have not yet been fully completed, they are still ongoing. And it will probably not be completed soon. The reason for this is not only the size of the tomb and not the lack of financial assistance to archaeologists from the state. To a greater extent, this is the eternal fear of the Chinese before the world of the dead. Even today they treat the ashes of their ancestors with trepidation, fearing to defile it with their unholy touch. So, in the opinion of Professor Yuan Jungai: "It will take many more years before the excavation can finally be continued."
The find in Xi'an province is of great historical importance. She made it possible to learn about how the ancient Chinese army was equipped. And besides, the terracotta army is a real sculptural wonder.
