The terracotta soldiers were made for the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. During his reign, people believed that you needed to take things into the afterlife with you such as food, clothes, furniture, and even a fake warrior army.
Generals, archers, foot soldiers, horses and chariots were all buried at the site. Archaeologists have also unearthed life like government officials, musicians and acrobats although these forms were not on display.
The soldiers were sculpted out of a local clay called yellow clay, which is abundant in the area. We learned the head was the hardest part to sculpt. Each part of the body was made separately then assembled after being fired in a kiln. The warriors were then painted bright, vibrant colors which has worn away with time. Each soldier had a weapon of some sort, a sword, bow and arrow, etc.
After completion, wooden beams and then wooden mats were placed over the soldiers. The mats were then covered by dirt. The warriors were lost to time until 1974, when a local farmer discovered them while digging a well.
Some of the site was excavated in 1978 and was covered up until 1988 when extensive excavation began. Three different pits have been unearthed, and more work is still being done. So far 10,000 warriors have been unearthed.
Besides the terracotta army the museum houses a large collection of ancient bronze statues.
I loved learning about the history and seeing the artifacts, and the kids did too, for the first half hour.
are being reassembled.
Excavation is ongoing. Each piece is
recorded and tagged.
No comments:
Post a Comment