Farmers find the Terracotta Army

Farmers digging a well near Xi'an found clay soldiers guarding the tomb of Qin Shi Huang. Thousands of life-size figures have been unearthed, each with different features.

Context

The first figures were found in spring 1974 in Lintong District near Xi'an, when villagers were digging a well. Chinese archaeologists then excavated three main pits and found warriors, horses, chariots and bronze weapons arranged in military formation.

Qin Shi Huang unified China in 221 BCE and died in 210 BCE. Estimates of the army's size are often put at about 8,000 figures, though much of the site remains unexcavated and numbers vary. The figures were made from local clay with molds and hand finishing, which explains the individual faces and hairstyles.

Many were originally painted in bright colors, but the paint flaked off soon after exposure to air, and conservators now work to protect traces. The emperor's burial mound has not been opened. An ancient historian described rivers of mercury inside it, and soil tests have found raised mercury levels nearby.

UNESCO listed the mausoleum as a World Heritage site in 1987.

Excavation and study continue, and new pits and finds, such as figures of acrobats and officials, have widened the picture of the emperor's burial complex beyond soldiers. The scale of the project is estimated from the size of the pits, not from any complete count.