The Terracotta Army of Qin Shi Huang Lintong District, Xi'an, Shaanxi province China
The Terracotta Army ("Soldier-and-horse funerary statues") is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BC whose purpose was to protect the emperor in his afterlife. The figures, dating from the late third century BC were discovered in 1974 by local farmers in Lintong District, Xi'an, Shaanxi province. The figures vary in height according to their roles, with the tallest being the generals. The figures include warriors, chariots and horses. Estimates from 2007 were that the three pits containing the Terracotta Army held more than 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which remained buried in the pits nearby Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum. Other terracotta non-military figures were found in other pits, including officials, acrobats, strongmen and musicians. The construction of the tomb was described by historian Sima Qian (145–90 BC) in his most noted work Shiji, written a century after the mausoleum's completion. Work on the mausoleum began in 246 BC soon after Emperor Qin (then aged 13) ascended the throne, and the project involved 700,000 workers. The Terracotta Army is part of a much larger necropolis built for the emperor covering a large area was found surrounding the first emperor's tomb mound. The mound is located at the foot of Mount Li and built in a pyramidal shape with Qin Shi Huang’s necropolis complex constructed as a microcosm of his imperial palace. The warriors stood guard to the east of the tomb which appears to be a hermetically-sealed space the size of a football pitch. It remains unopened, possibly due to concerns about preservation of its artifacts. For example, after the excavation of the Terracotta Army, the painted surface present on some terracotta figures began to flake and lacquer covering the paint can curl in fifteen seconds once exposed to Xi'an's dry air.
Size: 3840px × 5760px
Location: Lintong District, Xi'an, Shaanxi province China Asia
Photo credit: © DV TRAVEL / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 158445_terra, archer, army, brick, cavalry, chinese, clay, cotta, emperor, figure, figures, general, huang, infantry, infantrymen, mausoleum, men, necropolis, pit, pottery, qin, rank, shi, soldiers, statue, statues, terra, terracotta, tomb, warrior, warriors, xi
