The Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses
The next day our student guides took us the terracotta army east of Xian. Although we actually saw a few of the warrior statues when they were touring the world in the 80 ies the seemingly endless rows of life sized generals, infantrymen, archers, cavalry,strongmen and musicians depicting the army of the first Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang who also built the Great Wall, were really a once of a lifetime sight.
This amazing world heritage site was hidden to the world until 1974. There had been previous reports about pieces of terracotta found close to the tomb of the first Chinese emperor Qin but no excavations had been performed. It was incidentally discovered by a farmer drilling a well. Several drilling attempts had been made but all had been terminated just above the pits containing the army and the farmer who did not give up literally struck gold. He is still alive, and signs the official guidebook in a huge museum store, which also sells overprized warrior replicas in all imaginable materials and sizes
We were assigned a competent guide, a Chinese woman speaking reasonably good English but we were amazed that at first she seemed to be prouder of the grandiose museum building and the celebrities whO had signed its guestbook than of the terracotta army itself. When we came into the first exhibition room her voice was drowned out by an unbelievable cacaphony as the place was swarmed with enthusiastic, loud Chinese tourists.
The statues were placed in more than 200 m long pits divided into corridors with wooden ceilings. When the pits were first excavated the statues were found in pieces; it is said that the emperor´s enemies found the army after his death and smashed it on purpose. So far, only one soldier was found intact. Remnants of burnt rafters were found and some of the statues had also been damaged by fire. Probably the wooden constructions were burnt by looters, supported by the fact that most weapons are missing. The few which have been found show impressive bronze metallurgy capabilities, i.a. chromium surface plating for hardness and corrosion resistance. Surprisingly, iron was only found in tools, not in weapons, perhaps it was not considered good enough for an emperor. A not restored part with cruched statues can be seen in pit number 1 (there are 4 pits, the 4th one however unfinished and empty) Pit number one is actually said to contain more than 6000 statues.We were told that 40 archeologists work on the site, and 2000 assemble the pieces.The figures were made in separate parts that were assembled, which explains that some of the soldiers lack their head. As for those who dont you can see that the facial features differ. It is believed that eight different face moulds were used and then additional clay was used to sculpture the individual faces and facial expressions. Also the head gear and intricate hairstyles differ and indicate rank and arms of service, officers usually wearing hats, whereas warriors have their hair tied into a knot. A few statues were on display in showcases and remnants of colour could still be traced on some.
