The Terra Cotta Army

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The Terra Cotta Army
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An army of clay soldiers stands guard near the
Chinese city of Xian (pronounced SHEE-AHN). Day
and night, for more than 2,000 years, these
soldiers have kept watch over the tomb of Shi
Huangdi (pronounced SHEE-HWAHNG-DEE) -- the first
emperor of the Qin dynasty and the unifier of
China. Recently, archaeologists uncovered more of
these ancient clay statues.
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 Shi Huangdi was only 13 years old when he came
to power. He ruled from 221 B.C. until 207 B.C.
No sooner did he become emperor, than he began
preparing for his death. He ordered more than
700,000 workers to build his underground tomb.
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 The grandest tomb of any emperor, it stood more
than 15 stories high and covered about three
acres. To surround the tomb, artists fashioned a
clay army of thousands of soldiers, horses, and
chariots. Just as Shi Huangdi's real army
protected the emperor in life, his clay army was
to guard him death.
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Each clay figure was made one at a time. No molds
were used. Each soldier had a different face,
probably the likeness of a real soldier. Each was
made slightly larger than the real person. Some
of the soldiers carried real spears and swords.
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The warriors' bodies were made of coils of coarse
gray terra cotta, a kind of clay. First, the
coils were coated with a finer clay. Next, the
warriors' heads and hands were attached. Then the
bodies were fired and painted. These clay
soldiers, chariots, and horses are the earliest
known examples of large sculpture by Chinese
artists. The site is considered one of the most
important archaeological finds of the twentieth
century.
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In 1974, archaeologists first discovered the
standing clay soldiers buried underground. They
unearthed 6,000 soldiers, horses and chariots.
They thought the burial ground covered about five
and one-half acres. Recent findings indicate that
Shi Huangdi's burial ground is much bigger. The
tomb may spread over 20 square miles (32 square
km)!
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 So far, two pits have been excavated around the
tomb. The third and most recently discovered pit
contains 86 soldiers and chariots with 44 terra
cotta horses. Unlike the standing army discovered
earlier, these soldiers ride in chariots, lead
horses, or kneel to shoot arrows. No one knows
how many more soldiers remain.