An Overview of the Site

• The terracotta figures of warriors are lined up row upon row in battle formations in three different sites covering over 19,000 square yards. The warriors are arranged in trenches followed by one-half life-size bronzed horses and chariots painted with geometric and cloud patterns and scores of weapons inlaid with gold and silver. The entire area is now a museum and a World Heritage Site.
  
  

How the Warriors Were Found

• While simply digging in his fields in 1974, a Chinese peasant farmer found pottery fragments and then the upper body of the first warrior. Archaeologists ultimately found that the site contained not only the warriors, but horses and chariots as well. Most of the pieces were badly broken from looting over the centuries. The only piece found entirely intact was one warrior, a kneeling archer.
  
  

History of Emperor Qin

• From 221 to 206 BC, Emperor Qin ruled the whole of China; his was the first unified and power-centralized government in Chinese history. Qin began building his empire when he first came into power at 13 years old. Emperor Qin held all the powers in the state and enacted many reforms; he reorganized local and regional governments, standardized measurements, coinage and written characters and instituted irrigation and road building projects--the Great Wall being one of his most famous projects. However, despite his achievements, Qin was a ruthless leader, burning books and burying scholars alive.
  
  

Who Made the Warriors?

• Emperor Qin required hard labor and heavy taxes on the people in order to build the warriors, transporting skilled artisans and their assistants from all over the country to the site. As a result of Qin's conscriptions, the warriors were carved from clay by both skilled and unskilled artisans, leading to a difference in the overall character of the figures, with some more formal looking and others with more lively facial features.
  
  

How the Warriors Were Made

• Each warrior was carved by hand.terra cotta warriors image by aldaer from Fotolia.com
  
  Using earth from around the site, the artisans first screened the dirt to remove impurities. They then added ground rocks from the site which contained sand and minerals to add strength to the natural clay soil. Next they added enough water to form a pliable clay. Various parts of the warriors, such as the head, torso, arms, legs and feet were first molded with large chunks of clay and then additional layers of clay were added to form facial features or pieces of clothing. All of the pieces were fired in kilns and painted in bright and varied colors after firing.