- The Terracotta Army is an army of terracotta warriors, horses and chariots, found buried in pits in the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor of China (221-210 BCE) and founder of the Qin Dynasty.
- The Army stands guard to the East of the his Tomb, and is part of a large Funerary Monument, built in c.209 BCE, located at Mount Li, Lishan. It is a Unesco World Heritage Site.
Description
- The Army is located in a larger Necropolis which occupies 38 square miles (98 square km).
- There are approximately 8,000 Warriors, 520 Horses, 130 Chariots and 150 Cavalry Horses.
- Originally, most of the figures held real bronze weapons including Swords, Lances, Battleaxes, Scimitars, Shields, Crossbows and Daggers. The majority have subsequently been stolen.
- There are other Pits which contain Terracotta figures of Officials, Entertainers and Musicians.
- The Historian Sima Qian, describing the construction of the Tomb, wrote that 700,000 workers had been employed in its construction.
Terracotta Army, Lintong, Xi’an