Buried Army Of The Chinese Emperor

The Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses are world famous, attracting a large number of tourists from home and abroad to visit them each year. However, they are only a part of the yet unexcavated mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang located to its west. Though, we've written about them already, let's have another walk through this amazing and ancient place saturated with mystery. This story will be more detailed...

A ruler from the western state of Qin united the Warring States and formed China in 221 B.C. and named himself Shi Huangdi, meaning First Emperor. The

Emperor connected and extended the old fortification walls along the north of China, forming the Great Wall of China to stop invading barbarians from the north.

The Emperor standardized Chinese writing, bureaucracy, scholarship, law, currency, weights and measures. He expanded the Chinese empire, built a capital in Xian, a system of roads, and massive fortifications and palaces.

The entombment of the first Chinese Emperor is the most important tourist object of the Celestial Empire. It is located in the ancient city of Xian, a former capital of China.

The Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses can be reached by bus. The territory around the entombment is surrounded by kilometers of shops and other useless constructions that make a labyrinth out of this place.

Over 8000 warriors have been excavated till now. Their number is constantly increasing. Their height is 180-190 cm and weight of one soldier is equal to 136 kg.

There are no similar faces at all.

The warriors have real weapon at their disposal such as arbalests and pikes the major part of which must have been borrowed by rebellious peasants.

Attention to details is amazing.

It is believed that many thousands of other warriors can be hidden deep in the earth as well as figures of musicians and officials.

Condition of many sculptures is far from being ideal. Many of them were broken to pieces under the weight of a heavy roof.

The sculptures were brightly colored but the colors vanished due to the contact with oxygen at the time when the warriors saw the light. But why would they have blue noses?

There is an answer to the question what the purpose of those figures was. In ancient times they usually buried people who were still alive. Later it was decided to eradicate the tradition substituting people with clay figures.

Wives of the Emperor were the only exception to the rule as they weren't substituted by sculptures. Every childless concubine was buried alive.

The sculpture of the general is the highest one (almost 2 meters).

Bronze wagons of the Emperor with many golden and silver parts.

 

There is also evidence that the Emperor was buried together with workers who participated in his tomb construction. It is obvious that they couldn't slay all 700000 people engaged in the work.

The warrior is practicing Tai Chi.

They found a text which served as source of modern knowledge about the entombment. According to it, the Emperor was buried together with a huge number of people including workers. The grave was masked with grass and trees.

The tomb wasn't a giant pyramid but an inside part of the existing mountain.

The pyramid as it is seen today. Its height is 50 meters though according to the preliminary data, it used to be equal to 83-120 meters.

Upper part of the pyramid has no free access to prevent tourists from walking along the head of the great Emperor.

Local people try to mask the place with newly planted trees.

The Chinese are still hoping to find the entombment of the Emperor.

Reconstruction of the cemetery complex.

Remains of the southern gates. There used to be 10 of them.

The bricks are 2210 years old.

There is an opinion that the entombment was not completed as for the Emperor's son it was more important to build a palace for himself than finish a mausoleum for his father. 

First step of the pyramid.

The step hides behind the trees.

The whole province consists of similar forest terraces that constitute a labyrinth.

Houses of peasants located inside the terrace.

via  maximus101