The Terracotta warriors are arguable the most significant archaeological find in the 20th century. Considered by many the 8th wonder of the world  the Terracotta Army is a spectacular site to see. In this article I will give you valuable information about the history of the Terracotta Army!

The Terracotta Army Consists of over 8,000  soldiers 139, chariots, 520 horses, and 150 cavalry. Every single person,horse and object in the Terracotta army was made by hand more then 2,000 years ago.  The Warriors were made to protect emperor Qin Shi Huang in the afterlife.  The cool thing about these warriors was that every single one of them has a different face. Scholars believe that the workers used 4 different molds and hand sculpted facial features.  The warriors were about 2 metres tall and weighed about 300 kilograms



Historians believe that work on Qin Shi Huang's tomb began in 90 B.C., at its peak construction was estimated to involve 700,000 workers from all over ancient China. The tomb took about 11 years to complete. In the spring of 1974  a group of farmers stumbled across the tomb while digging a well. immediately after, thousands of archeologists went to the Provence of Shaanxi to investigate. To their surprise they discovered a huge tomb with a spectacular mausoleum  In the tomb archeologists discovered 3 pits contained a huge army of terracotta warriors and other non military figures such as acrobats,strong men and musicians. The tomb was huge and is still being excavated today. Some of the Terracotta warriors are on display in a museum a few miles from the Tomb. Much of the tomb today has been closed off to preserve the artifacts found in it.


Cool Facts

  • In the tomb swords,arrows and other weapons were found. None of the metal weapons were rusted
  • The bows found in the tomb could shoot an arrow over 800 meters
  • Qin Shi Huang took mercury pills to try to live longer, he was afraid to die which is why he created a huge army to protect him in his afterlife
  • Qin Shi Huang died at age 50 and any workers who were still working on the tomb when he died were killed and buried with him.
  • There has been a high level of Mercury found on the mound of the tomb, it is believed that workers created a river of mercury.
  • Qin Shi Huang was the first emperor of the Qin dynasty and he took the throne at a very young age.
  • Qin Shi Huang started the construction of the Great Wall of China.
  • Like in Egyptian Tombs, Qin Shi Huang's tomb was rigged with traps to deter robbers.



Terracotta Warriors