One of the great archaeological discoveries are the thousands of life-size terracotta soldiers in Xian. The soldiers, along with terracotta horses and bronze chariots, were first discovered accidentally in 1974 in an area east of Xian. The soldiers, standing in full battle formation, were part of an elaborate tomb designed to protect one of the Qin Dynastry emperors, Quinshi Huangdi, in the after-life. The scope of this burial tomb, which dates from 210 B.C., is overwhelming. Three vaults have been uncovered with vault one housing over 6,000 warriors. One wonders if China will turn this treasure into yet another tourist site, with little appreciation of the deeper culture of ancient civilizations and the important of preservation. An interesting comparison is made with the burial tombs in Egypt.
4 comments:
We studied the terracotta warriors in the fourth grade at the Little School with Mrs. Scalisi. It is AWESOME that you get to see them in person.
Hello Kevin: I hope I can come to your classroom to tell you more about my trip to China.
Dr. T
Wow... that is so cool that you say the terracotta warriors in person! I have heard many things about them and hope that we will be learning more about them in school and other times. I hope you enjoyed your trip!
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