TERRACOTTA WARRIORS
I believe that the terracotta warriors are one of the greatest
archaeological finds because their were over 8000 soldiers, 130
chariots with 670 horses, including cavalry horses. These sculptures
were made 2200 years ago. There were also non-military figures
found, such as officials, acrobats, musicians and strong men. These
figures were found in three pits. Also all of these figures are made
out of terracotta which is a clay made of yellow clay, mainly
composed of silicon oxide, Aluminium oxide and ferric oxide. The
Terracotta warriors where built to represent the army of the first
Emperor of China (Qin Shi Huang), but before all of his army was
built he died at the age of 49.
The terracotta warriors were discovered on 29th of March 1974 to
the east of Xian in Shaanxi. They were discovered accidently by
farmers who where digging a water well. Soon after the warriors
were found (which was in July) a Chinese archaeological started
excavating the site.
On October 1st, 1979. A Museum was opened about 35 km East of
Xian on north Qinling road, China. Around 2000000 Chinese and
Foreign Tourists visit the Terracotta warriors every year. The
museum for the Terracotta Warriors is 16 300 square meters. The
museum is divided into three separate areas. There is number one
pit, which is the biggest pit, and then there is number two pit which
was discovered in 1976 and went under display in 1994. Pit two is
located 20 meters from pit one. The third pit, which is 25 meters
away from pit number one, was also discovered in 1976 and was
displayed in 1983. Since October the 1st 2010, the museum has been
combined to make one large attraction.
During the digging of the Terracotta Warriors the archaeologists took
3 years to dig and investigate pit number 1. The head of the
archaeology in pit number 1 said that the warriors were very
realistic and that he was astonished with the detail put into them. He
said that the warriors even had black pupils and white eyes. He also
said that the warriors were also painted, but sadly had been eroded
after their exposure to the air. They also found a painted shield that
was on a chariot relic. An expert said that the shield was probably
used for the soldier riding inside the chariot. This proves that the
soldiers took care of them selves in the war. In fact, they also had a
fully armored suit.
Although the discovery of the Terracotta Warriors was one of the
greatest in archaeological history. It was like a curse for the Farmers
who had accidently stumbled across the Terracotta Warriors when
they were digging the well. After they had discovered the Terracotta
warriors the government took over their farm to build the museum
and Gift shops. Their 2000-year-old village has had to be abandoned.
One of the farmers has committed suicide, because they were under
so much stress trying keep alive. The two youngest farmers who
discovered the Warriors died at the age of around 50. This is because
they had no job and couldn’t make enough money to stay alive. The
rest of the farmers who were in the digging of the well have to own
stores and sign autographs to be able to earn money.
In conclusion, I strongly believe that the discovery of the Terracotta
Warriors was one of the greatest archaeological finds, because it is
simply amazing the way that the sculptures have been built. The way
people spent more than 30 years to build these amazing warriors. It
has helped teach me that archaeology is very important so people can
learn more about the interesting things that happened in the past.
Bibliographies:
en.wekipedia.org/wiki/Terracotta-Army
history1900’sabout.com/od/1970’s/qt/terracottaarmy.htm
www.digitalmail.co.uk/news/artic
le-480757/curse-terracottaarmy.htm
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/716763.shtml
BY,
Angus Earle