During the 1970s, there was a terrible drought in Shaanxi province, China. A group of civilians living in the area were becoming desperate for water. And so in the Spring time of 1974, the local farmers started digging around a well to solve their problem.
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They had no idea that they would find something more valuable than water. A few feet into the hard soil, the group of farmers found something out of the ordinary. When they realized what it was, they instantly did the right thing and notified the proper people.
Calling in the expert
The farmers called Zhao Kangmin, a local to their place who was now working as a museum curator. They informed Zhao Kangmin that they found something that has the potential to be a historical artifact.
Source: BBC News
When Zhao Kangmin heard the news, he had a feeling about this discovery but did not want to assume too much until he has seen it. It turned out that in the past, researchers have already been investigating the area – particularly in the city of Xian.
Could it be connected?
Xian city was just 86 miles away from where the farmers were digging for water. Due to the location, Zhao Kangmin thinks that what the farmers had discovered could be connected to what their research team found.
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This research took place a decade before and Zhao Kangmin was part of the excavation and research team. The discovery their team had uncovered belonged to one of China’s dynasties from 2,000 years ago. This brings us to the Qin Dynasty which was around 221 to 206 BC.
The archeological find in Xian
During this time, China was unified under the rule of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. According to the research they made, the majestic burial chamber and tomb of the great emperor are somewhere within the city of Xian.
Source: Sculpture.solutions
During their excavation in the 1960s, their team uncovered a sculpture of three kneeling crossbowmen. The artifacts dated back to the time of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. So, when Zhao Kangmin got the call, he and his team immediately rode his bike to the area.
A historical puzzle
When they arrived, Yang Zhifra, one of the farmers, had just finished digging up a life-sized human head sculpture. It looked like the sculpture was made of reddish, brown clay. During the Qin dynasty, this material was known as “baked earth” more known worldwide as “terracotta.”
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Digging a little bit more revealed scraps of statues. There were legs, arms, heads, and bodies spread out in the area. It looked like parts of one or two unfinished statues. But what does it mean?
Not the first historical find
The presence of the research team caught the attention of the residents in the area and soon, word spread out. Some of them came forward and informed the research team that this was not the first time something historical was found in their area.
Source: Anything Anywhere
Weeks before any researchers came to the site, the local farmers had been finding all sorts of historical treasures in the area. They were able to find some bronze arrowheads, which they had already sold for scraps.
Keeping it a secret
At first, Zhao Kangmin and his team decided to keep everything a secret so they can secretly work on the findings. They were worried that if the government finds out, the site might be shut down or destroyed.
Source: Pixabay
During this time, the national policies are not as supportive of historical finds. They needed to act fast. Zhao Kangmin’s team collected samples of the terracotta and tried to piece them together like a puzzle. It took a couple of days but once completed, they were immediately blown away.
Life-sized warriors
Their hard work formed not just one but two six-foot-tall warrior statues. Each one weighed several hundred pounds. With all the pieces put together, more questions started to arise. What were these statues used for?
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Could there be more on the site? Will they be able to excavate more? They were nervous about how the authorities would react to this find. Somehow, a journalist got hold of their story while traveling in the area. The secret excavation was immediately leaked to the public.
Government support
Thankfully, the effect was a positive one. The government seemed to be just as interested as the research was. The authorities met with Zhao Kangmin and his team and made the excavation official. With the government on their side, they were able to work as they pleased.
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Zhao Kangmin’s team was able to do more and eventually uncovered a whole lair of terracotta warriors and honeycomb chambers. The entire find spanned over 16,000 square meters. It turned out to be one of the 20th century’s most important archeological findings.
The first emperor of China
What makes this finding important is that this belongs to the Qin dynasty. Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi was not only known as a great ruler but he was also the first ruler who reigned a power-centralized and multi-national empire in Chinese history.
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He reigned for 36 years and all the achievements in his dynasty were remarkable. Although some historians would consider his war tactics to be brutal, Emperor Qin was able to unite seven different nations into one reigning empire.
The Qin dynasty
Unifying different sections and nations was not an easy thing to do during his time. What makes it amazing is that he started out at a very young age. In 246 BC, a 13-year-old Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi started his legacy. He went to war and the empire he built is present-day China.
Source: Wikipedia
The emperor created a standard script, currency, and weights and measuring system. Emperor Qin also built a chain of highways to link the nations together. He was the one who commissioned the original Great Wall of China.
Entourage for the afterlife
It seems that Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi believed in the afterlife. He commissioned an entire military of terracotta warriors to accompany him to the afterlife. His grand vision led to the creation of one of the biggest mausoleums or tomb chambers in the world.
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In ancient China, when an elite died, they would normally be buried with their servants. But a lot of people started to question human sacrifice. So, the emperor used terracotta figures as a substitute for their slaves. The emperor built an entire military army to escort him into eternity.
An army of thousands
It took several years to work on uncovering the entire terra cotta army. There were more than 7,000 handmade terracotta combat fighters and soldiers. As they made their way deeper into the mausoleum, the team found that the soldiers were standing according to rank.
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Archaeology expert Xiuzhen Li shared in an interview with BBC that “these warriors are all life-sized like real soldiers … from their hairstyle, the headgear, you can tell that they are different ranks.” It was indeed an important historical find that China could consider a national treasure.
Each statue was unique
And since Emperor Qin was a very detail-oriented person, the soldiers were not mass-produced. Every statue weighed several hundred pounds and came with different details. The whole army was handcrafted carefully.
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Every soldier was sculpted and designed to look different and unique like real people. They were made to pose as if they were ready to go to battle. They also carried different weapons, wore different uniforms, different hairstyles or headgear, and also had different facial expressions.
Painted statues
Archaeologist Xiuzhen Li and her team discovered chamber pit 3 during the 1980s and discovered more statues. Only this time, the statures were colored. The paint looked vibrant but when studied, they found that some of the colors and paint had faded over time while some were damaged from air exposure.
Source: Wikipedia
What impressed the team was the material they used to paint the statues. Natural colors were created from plants and natural minerals. Meanwhile, specific colors like purple were created with chemicals. This meant that the Qin Dynasty already had the technology to use chemicals to make artificial coloring 2,000 years ago.
Civilians in the tomb
Just like the terracotta army, the painted statues in chamber pit 3 were handmade and unique. The statues did not only have different attire, gears, and faces, but the way they were painted was also unique.
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The statues on chamber pit 3 were high-command citizens like court members and government officials. There were also civilians and entertainers like musicians, dancers, and acrobats. There were also artifacts, weaponry, and other monuments in it. There were even terracotta statues of exotic animals.
An incomplete project
When the team reached the fourth chamber, they found that the space was empty. Historians believed that this meant the project had stopped probably because Emperor Qin already passed away. But even though the project was incomplete, it was undeniably impressive.
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All in all, the tomb chamber of Emperor Qin was indeed a magnificent full-sized underground terracotta kingdom. The first chamber pit held thousands of terracotta soldiers. The second chamber pit held war chariots and horses. The third chamber pit held the colored terracotta statues.
The emperor’s tomb
If this was created for Emperor Qin’s tomb, where is his body? The tomb chamber was found less than a mile away from pit chamber 1, where the terracotta warriors are found. However, it remains to be unsealed to this day.
Source: Wikipedia
It was noticeable that the terracotta figures guarding the tomb were in bad condition after air exposure. The archeologists and historians were afraid that opening the tomb chamber will greatly damage its contents in it. Because of this, they decided to leave it as is to conserve it from any damage until they find a way to excavate and explore it safely.
The sealed tomb
Despite Emperor Qin’s high appreciation for documentation and writing scriptures, it was surprising that there were no records or even plans written up about his huge tomb chamber. For now, historians can only speculate and hypothesize what could be hidden inside the emperor’s tomb.
Source: University of Oxford
“This is unique in China and also unique in the world. Even now, I walk in and I still feel very impressed.” Archeologist Xiuzhen Li expressed. She finds it to be a great honor and the highlight of her career to be part of the team that uncovered it.
A national treasure
Even though Emperor Qin’s tomb remained to be untouched, the other pit chambers were considered to be a priceless historic finds. It gained UNESCO World Heritage status in 1987. Today, the actual chambers are now a museum known as the Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s Mausoleum Site Museum.
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It is considered to be the largest preserved site in China. After getting world recognition, some of the terracotta warriors were removed and included in a touring exhibition so that the whole world can get to see the hand-crafted uniqueness of the statues.