The unearthing of the Terracotta Army of Xi'an, China has been hailed as one of the most significant archaeological discoveries ever made. Today members of the petrified army tour museums across the globe and never fail to attract record crowds. They are undisputed superstars of the museum circuit. Only Tutankhamun, the boy pharaoh of ancient Egypt can sell out more exhibitions.
But who built them? And what were they guarding? During my journey across China I decided to visit the excavation site near Xi'an to find out.
The Severed Head
The summer sun of 1974 had been particularly cruel and unrelenting in central China. A family of brothers had to dig a new well outside their farm to quench the thirst of their apricots trees. As their shovels parted the parched earth they encountered strange fragments of pottery. They continued digging until a shovel struck against something big. A severed clay head, staring up at them.
Unsure what to do with this bizarre discovery they informed a local historian (Zhao Kangmin) who began to carefully piece together the strange pottery fragments. Soon the body of an ancient soldier begun to rise from the rubble. Zhao suspected that this soldier was from the Qin-era (221-206 BC) making this accidental discovery hugely significant.
However Zhao wanted to keep this discovery a secret. China had just recently gone through the pro-Maoism cultural revolution, during which Mao zealots had been actively seeking out and destroying artefacts and historical sites in an attempt to purge China of its imperial past. Zhao himself had been subject to criticism for being "involved with old things." Despite Zhao's concerns news of the discovery circulated and government officials soon arrived at the site. The field was purchased from the farms by the government and a full scale excavation followed. Within months over 500 warriors had been unearthed.
Born in Exile
Ying Zheng was born in 259 BC. His father (Yiren) was the royal heir to the throne of the powerful Qin dynasty but had been sent to live in the hostile territory of Zhou as part of an amnesty.
Yiren's life as a political prisoner changed when a rich and shrewd Zhou businessman (Lu Buwei) befriended Yiren. Lu Buwei looked after Yiren and even presented him with one of his concubines (Lady Zhou) whom he married and bore him a son (Ying). Lu Buwei then began to travel to Qin. Using his wealth and charm he convinced the Qin court to embrace Yiren as the next emperor.
With the groundwork laid by Lu Buwei, Yiren escaped Zhou and took the throne of Qin. However he died only three years later leaving Ying who was only 13 to ascend the throne. Under the guidance of Lu Buwei, Ying began a relentless and ruthless military campaign against the other dynasties. By the age of 38 he had conquered all the dynasties and gave himself a new title: Qin Shi Hueng (the first emperor of Qin).
Prepare to Die
A grim task that Qin had to confront early in his reign was to make preparations for his own death by building a mausoleum. This structure would allow Qin to journey into the next life, along with any accompanying individuals, animals or objects buried within its walls. A sort of celestial ferry.
However Qin, obsessed with his empire, could never finish his mausoleum as the idea of travelling to the afterlife without it was simply unthinkable. He therefore had the impossible task of building a mausoleum so large and elaborate that it would allow him to bring his whole world into the next.
Deep within Qin's mausoleum is said to be a grand microcosm of his empire. An accurate and detailed topographical model of all of China with bronze mountains and gorges and pools of mercury depicting rivers and lakes. Above, a large dome representing the sky with pearls and precious gems mirroring the sun, moon and stars.
The only part of Qin's mausoleum that has been excavated is his personal army that was stationed around its outer walls; the terracotta army.
The Quiescent Fields
The dig site and terracotta army exhibit which I visited was a short bus journey out of Xi'an. The site is divided into three pits. Pit 1 is under a giant hanger with a small walkway running around the perimeter. On the walkway a steady torrent of tourists flow around, all vying to catch a glimpse of the motionless soldiers below. Some larger groups were congregated around a tour guide who was speaking to them via a headset.
I managed to jostle my way to the front of the crowd and saw the soldiers for the first time. Long rows of pairs of soldiers stretched out into the distance. Despite all the bustle and constant stream of tourists pushing past I found that if you stare at the terracotta soldiers long enough a strange sense of eerie quietness descends on you. It is something about their permanent stillness and their uninterruptible gaze. The world has rapidly changed around them however their eyes remain still.
Breaking out of my trance I began to look around and noticed a plaque on the far left of the pit marking the location of where the farmers dug that fateful well. Considering the gap between the rows of soldiers, if the farmers had dug slightly to the left or right would all these soldiers still be buried?
I rejoined the flow of tourists along the walkway and shuffled further into the hanger. The back part of the hanger is only partially unearthed and is still being excavated by a small team using basic hand tools. When the first terracotta figure was discovered it only took a few months before another 400 had been unearthed, however the excavation today at pit 1 seems to be proceeding at a much slower rate. Perhaps they are being much more careful and methodical to ensure even the smallest fragments of terracotta are not discarded with the rest of the earth. However I got the sense that this slow rate was more to maximise the length of time this dig site will be active. It is more interesting for tourists to see an exhibit with an active and on going archaeological dig rather than a finished pit, a dig where the work is not complete and important discoveries can yet be made.
At the very back of Pit 1 hanger was a terracotta assembly area where many soldiers stood in various forms of repair. Some soldiers looked almost complete and ready to be shipped off to an exhibit somewhere in the world. Others were an assortment of broken fragments precariously held together with bandages.
Pit 2 and 3 are housed in an adjacent building and are considerably smaller than Pit 1. These smaller pits also attracted far less attention from the stream of tourists who only seem to give these pits a passing glance whilst walking to the exit. Pit 2 contains a wider variety of terracotta soldiers, in particular archers who are in a kneeling position.
Pit 3 - is unique as the figures are facing inwards towards each other as if they were talking amongst themselves. This pit is believed to have been a command centre comprising of officers and generals. The figures are taller in this pit indicating their higher importance although this was hard to see as most of their heads were missing. I found this pit strangely fascinating. The arrangement of the figures facing each other made Pit 3 look like some kind of terracotta tea-party, a giant game played by a powerful ruler who never grew up. Perhaps the same could be said about the whole terracotta army. This whole monument was the product of a boy trapped in an emperor's body?
The Elixir of Life
In his later years Qin became increasingly obsessed with the idea of immortality. He had already survived several assassination attempts and had even arrested his own mother and expelled Lu Buwei after he discovered that they were conspiring to overthrow him. With the world seemingly against him and his huge mausoleum still under construction Qin needed another solution.
A story that caught his interest told of the existence of an immortal-granting elixir made by magical fairies who lived on three floating islands. These islands were perilously difficult to reach as they were guarded by a fierce wind that repelled any boat that dared approach. Qin dispatched several expeditions to find these mythical islands and bring back the elixir, however none returned.
Becoming increasingly desperate, Qin started taking a prescription of special pills containing mercury concocted by one of his doctors. The doctor claimed that mercury had magical properties that would grant Qin immortality. Ironically, Qin died from mercury poisoning.
This unexpected death could not have come at a worse time for Qin as he had been touring his empire and was far away from his capital and mausoleum. His entourage, concerned that word of the emperor's demise would cause panic and rebellion, decided to keep the news a secret by continuing the tour until the route returned them to the capital. To avoid suspicion they propped up Qin's lifeless body in his carriage and darkened the windows. When the smell of his corpse started to become noticeable wagons of dead rotting fish were added to the parade to mask the stench.
The Sealed Underworld
It is believed that Qin's body, or what was left of it after the long journey, was laid to rest in his mausoleum. This whole structure was then immediately sealed and buried under heavy layers of earth. Today Qin's mausoleum, this incredible necropolis, is now just a modest featureless grassy hill, 1.5 km from the Terracotta army exhibit.
The site has not yet been excavated due to concerns over preservation. It has been discovered that the terracotta army, world famous in their monochrome form, were originally painted. With Qin's obsession for his mausoleum and unlimited wealth it can be assume that the paintwork on each individual warrior would have been brilliant. This paintwork was then sealed with a layer of lacquer. However as soon as a painted fragment of a terracotta warrior is excavated this ancient layer of lacquer immediately shrivels and flakes into dust stripping off all the paint in the process. The damage is irreversible. A single opening into Qin's mausoleum may result in air immediately flooding the corridors and chambers destroying all paintwork and murals and no practical solution has been agreed upon on how to resolve this issue.
Until then, Qin's mausoleum remains tantalisingly unexplored. One of the most significant archaeological discoveries ever made, is yet to be made.