Terracotta Army

Discovered by farmers in 1974 near Xi'an, China, the Terracotta Army was built to guard the tomb of Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor. Constructed between approximately 246 and 210 BCE, the army comprises an estimated 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses, and 150 cavalry horses — all buried in three massive pits covering 22,000 square metres. Each warrior features unique facial expressions, hairstyles, and clothing, suggesting they were modelled on real soldiers. Archaeologists have not yet excavated the emperor's main burial chamber.

The count of 8,000 is an estimate based on excavation progress to date; the full number may differ once all pits are fully excavated.

Context

The army is only one part of a much larger funerary complex around the burial mound of Qin Shi Huang, who unified China in 221 BCE and died in 210 BCE. Historical accounts written about a century later say that hundreds of thousands of labourers worked on the tomb for decades, which fits the scale of what has been found.

The figure of about 8,000 soldiers is an estimate. Only part of the three pits has been dug, and many figures were found broken after the wooden roofs collapsed and the pits were damaged by fire or looting in antiquity. Archaeologists have reassembled and restored figures piece by piece, and counts quoted in different sources vary.

The figures were made from local clay using moulded parts that were assembled and then individually finished, which explains why the faces differ. They were originally painted in bright colours, but the pigment flaked off quickly once exposed to air after excavation, so conservators now work to protect surviving traces. The central tomb chamber remains unopened, partly because of preservation concerns.