You know the story: in 1974, in the land surrounding the tomb/mausoleum of the first Qin emperor, the terra cotta warriors were discovered/uncovered.

 

I've personally seen these guys 10-12 times over the past 8 or so years, and (frankly speaking) I continue to be awestruck by this excavation and the scale/scope of this site.
This was the second visit since I have my image-stabilizing lenses, and it really pays off for the zoom shots. You can check the earlier years for yourself and see the difference.
Well, only some of the difference.
Because what you do not see in the earlier years is just how many of the shots came out fuzzy under the relatively low-light setting of these pits.
A mean... look at these guys...
... or these...
And these images have been knocked down to 250 KB from 1.3 MB so that it doesn't take you until the next Imperial Age to download them.
Just like being there!
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The terracotta figures were manufactured both in workshops by government laborers and also by local craftsmen.
The head, arms, legs and torsos were created separately and then assembled.
Studies show that eight face moulds were most likely used, and then clay was added to provide individual facial features.
 
Once assembled, intricate features such as facial expressions were added.
 
According to historian Sima Qian (145-90 BC), construction of this mausoleum began in 246 BC and involved 700,000 workers.
 
Sima Qian, a contemporary historian to the first Emperor, wrote that the Emperor Qin was buried with palaces, scenic towers, officials, valuable utensils and "wonderful objects," with 100 rivers fashioned in mercury.
Recent scientific work at the site has shown high levels of mercury in the soil on and around Mount Lishan (the burial mound).
This mound, the tomb of the First Emperor, is under an earthen pyramid 76 meters tall and nearly 350 square meters. The tomb remains unopened, in the hope that it will remain intact.
The four pits associated with the dig are about 1.5 km east of the burial ground and are about 7 meters deep.
This guy probably will not be in this spot forever, but he's my favorite.
He sits alone amongst the rubble, a silent guard for this part of Pit #1.
You see - no matter where you are, his empty eyes follow you around.
 
Pit #1, 230 meters long, contains the main army, estimated at 8,000 figures. It has 11 corridors, most of which are over 3 meters wide, and paved with small bricks with a wooden ceiling supported by large beams and posts.
Pit three is the command post, with high ranking officers and a war chariot.
 
 
 
The small display museum associated with Pit #3 has some well-preserved figures in glass display cases.
The shoulder and waist braces were installed after the big 2008 earthquake, which hit hundreds of miles away, but rocked these guys around.
 
 
The group outside the big museum.
The two big treasures in here are these bronze pieces. They are approximately half-life size.
The most believable reason for the reduced size that I have heard, given the slightly larger than life-size terra cotta soldiers, is that the metallurgical techniques were not well developed enough, at this point, to handle life sized castings.