Sometimes some archaeological discoveries seriously change the course. That is why historians are so reverent about this kind of discoveries. Today we will tell you about the Terracotta Army.
Terracotta Army of China
In the 70s of the 20th century, during archaeological excavations in China, the clay Terracotta Army of Emperor Qin Shi Huang was found. This find immediately became a worldwide sensation, so it was not in vain that some dubbed it.
Today, the Terracotta Army is one of the main attractions of China, along with the Great Wall of China.
We bring to your attention Interesting Facts about this extraordinary ancient burial.
Emperor Qin Shi Huang's army
In 1974, near the city of Xi'an, a Terracotta Army made of clay was discovered. It was located next to the tomb of the emperor, and according to the beliefs of the ancient Chinese, it was supposed to protect him in the afterlife.
Interestingly, the Terracotta Army consisted of about 8,100 life-sized clay warriors and horses. In addition to terracotta sculptures, tens of thousands of bronze weapons were also found.
Formation of terracotta foot soldiers
The Clay Army was buried with Emperor Qin Shi Huang in 210 BC. e. In addition to these figures, archaeologists have found the remains of 70 thousand workers with their families, as well as the bodies of 48 concubines of the emperor.
The examination showed that all these people were buried alive in the grave. Most likely, this was done in order to hide the secret of the production of this army.
Creation
Terracotta statues were buried together with the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty - Qin Shi Huang (united China and connected all the links of the Great Wall) in 210-209 BC. e.
Sima Qian (hereditary historiographer of the Han Dynasty) reports that a year after ascending the throne in 246 BC. e. 13-year-old Ying Zheng (the future Qin Shi Huang) began to build his own tomb.
According to his plan, the statues were supposed to accompany him after death, and, probably, provide him with the opportunity to satisfy his power ambitions in the other world in the same way as he did in life.
The construction of the mausoleum required the efforts of more than 700 thousand workers and artisans and lasted 38 years. The perimeter of the outer wall of the burial is 6 km.
Although instead of living warriors, contrary to tradition, their clay copies were buried with the emperor, according to various estimates, up to 70 thousand workers along with their families were also buried.
Basic information
The statues were discovered in March 1974 by local farmers while drilling an artesian well east of Mount Lishan.
Mount Lishan is a man-made necropolis of the first Emperor Qin. The material for some of the statues was taken from this mountain.
The first stage of excavations took place from 1978 to 1984. The second - from 1985 to 1986.
Figures recovered from the excavation and collected in parts On June 13, 2009, the third stage of the excavations began. The army of clay warriors rests in battle formation in parallel crypts 1.5 km east of the emperor's tomb.
All these crypts were found at a depth of 4 to 8 m. It is also striking that all the statues are unique, that is, each figure has its own shape, equipment and face. Among these warriors there are privates, archers, cavalrymen and commanders-in-chief.
In relative proximity to the burial site, archaeologists have discovered statues of musicians, acrobats and statesmen.
Experts from China found that some of the figures, as well as horses and chariots, were made of clay. But with the rest of the warriors, the situation is much more complicated. It is still not known for certain where they were brought from. Each human statue weighs about 130 kg.
Scientists today are puzzled over how these statues were made. It is definitely clear that initially the figures were given one form or another, and then they were fired. But how?
The fact is that nearby archaeologists did not find a single kiln for firing. And this is not surprising, because at that time people did not yet have such highly developed technologies necessary for the manufacture of such sculptures. In addition, each statue is covered with a special glaze and painted with paint.
Unbelievable but true
There is one more, no less interesting riddle: why for more than 2000 years the weapon not only did not fade, but did not even become dull? The examination showed that the composition of all metal objects contains chromium.
Notice how the faces of these two soldiers differ from each other. Each statue is unique. But how could he be there if they learned how to make it only at the beginning of the 20th century? Did the ancient Chinese have such high technology? But all units of military weapons made at the highest level.
One of the most striking finds associated with the terracotta army is found near the mausoleum 2 bronze chariots.
They are drawn by four beautiful horses, which were obviously intended for the emperor's horse rides in the other world.
Each of these wagons is made from over 3,000 elements, which individually are true works of art. On the chariots you can see drawings of the Phoenix bird, dragon and tiger.
In addition to bronze, some details are made of silver and gold. Among all the discovered artifacts found in China throughout history, these wagons are the most magnificent.
Soon, after the death of the emperor, a fire broke out in the tomb, as a result of which it was plundered. According to ancient chronicles, it contained a large number of jewelry, coins and other valuables.
A number of historians believe that this tomb was only a fiction, and the true burial place of Qin Shi Huang has not yet been found. The Terracotta Army itself was subsequently covered with soil.
In general, the Terracotta Army can be considered the 8th wonder of the world. What is the number of artifacts found worth, not to mention how accurately they are made with jewelry.
Pay attention to these photos:
Terracotta warriors were once painted. Today, only a few statues contain small amounts of paint. Also pay attention to the details of the sole of the warrior. 
Terracotta soldier with horse Popularity and importance
In 1987, at the 11th session of UNESCO, the Terracotta Army was included in the World Heritage List as part of the "Tomb of the First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty" complex.
The tomb complex of Qin Shi Huang was the first of the Chinese sites included in this list. A visit to the Terracotta Army is often included in the program of visiting foreign heads of state in China.
In 1984, the exposition was visited by President Ronald Reagan and his wife. He regarded this historical monument as "the great miracle that belongs to mankind."
In 1986, Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain visited with Prince Philip. In 1998, the monument was visited by US President Bill Clinton and his family, and in 2004 by the President.
Terracotta Army today
The excavations of the Terracotta Army have not been completely stopped until now, as the Chinese authorities are doing everything possible to identify and preserve the legacy of their ancestors. However, at the official level, excavations are not currently carried out.
The reason for the suspension of archaeological research is that, according to legend, rivers of mercury should accompany the emperor in the afterlife.
Just in case, scientists decided to check this version, so as not to run into trouble. It may very well be that many more interesting and amazing artifacts are hidden underground. Therefore, even more new and amazing discoveries can await us ahead.
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“If you die, you won’t take anything with you,” says folk wisdom. But the first Chinese emperor did not think so, he intended to take everything that was possible to the next world. Even the army
In March 1974, in Shaanxi Province, one and a half kilometers from the majestic mound of ancient Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang, local peasants were digging a well. They searched for water, but found a life-sized clay head and torso. Later, archaeologists removed from the earth and reassembled hundreds of statues. terracotta warriors and horses. The clay army, over 2200 years old, was known as a new wonder of the world, after which its soldiers "traveled" half the world, attracting a record number of visitors to the museums where they exhibited. In 2006, they even "came on stage" at the New York Metropolitan Opera as a backdrop for Tan Dun's opera The First Emperor. The role of Qin Shi Huang, on whose orders the Terracotta Army was created, was performed by the famous tenor Placido Domingo.
Ruled in the III century BC. e. the first unifier of China (the name Qin Shi Huang, which he adopted as a result of his conquests, is translated as “the first heavenly ruler from the house of Qin”) desperately did not want to die. The ancient Chinese historian Sima Qian wrote that the emperor repeatedly instructed his subjects to find a drug that would give eternal life and couldn't stand talking about death. However, the ruler also took care not to need anything if he still had to go to afterworld. Qin Shi Huang took with him to the grave "models" of his empire and palace, statues of officials, artists, servants. And an army of thousands of terracotta soldiers and officers.
Ideal state
The burial of the First Emperor is located according to Feng Shui: according to this teaching, you need to bury, as well as settle, where the qi energy lingers, that is, between mountains and water
Terracotta Army
Castle. The ruins on the upper level of the Inner City are the remains of a palace used not for ceremonies, but for feasts and recreation. Such palaces were often built in ancient Chinese burial complexes.
Remains of caretakers' houses. Officials lived here, whose duty it was to maintain order in the burial complex.
Chariots. Two bronze chariots with four horses were found in a square pit - an open combat chariot (in battle such were in the vanguard of the Qin army) and equipped with a closed cabin (probably for inspection trips around the country). The chariots and horses are half their natural size.
"Pond". Clay figures of servants, musicians, as well as bronze statues of birds living near the water were found here: cranes (an ancient Chinese symbol of longevity), geese and swans.
Mound. Below it are the tomb of Qin Shi Huang and the underground palace. What is in them remains a mystery: the authorities do not give permission for large-scale excavations, fearing to damage the treasures. Opening the embankment is unsafe: soil analysis revealed an increased content of mercury. Sima Qian wrote that by order of Qin Shi Huang, a map of the empire was depicted on the floor of the tomb, and the “rivers” and “seas” were filled with mercury on it.
Cemetery builders. More than a hundred graves, from one to 14 bodies each. Ancient Chinese historians reported that more than 700 thousand people were sent to the construction. Mostly state slaves who fell into bondage for debts or misconduct, or prisoners of war, worked here. When they were buried, pieces of tiles were placed over the remains with information about the deceased: name, place of residence, rank and the crime committed.
"Palace Menagerie". Statues of servants, bowls and collars, skeletons of wild animals and birds have been found here. This is probably an imitation of a menagerie where rare animals were kept for hunting.
Pit officials. Terracotta figures of officials 1.8–1.9 m high and charioteers, the remains of a wooden chariot and bones of horses were found here.
"Stable"- pits in which the skeletons of imperial horses, ceramic vessels for food and statues of grooms were found.
Graves of the nobility. According to researchers, possible rivals of Qin Shi Huang's son, who were executed by him after coming to power, are buried here: high dignitaries and half-brothers and sisters.
Pits with acrobats. They found 11 terracotta figures of acrobats and equipment for performances: tripods, spears, bronze vessels.
Structural solution
Qin Shi Huang wanted something strange from his subjects: clay figurines were placed in the graves even before him, but never before in Ancient China had they made life-size realistic statues of people. I had to develop the technology of a new "mass production"
Each warrior has individual facial features, and the shape of the ears is also different. Initially, the figures were brightly colored, the colors corresponding to ranks and divisions.
Terracotta army pits
They are located on the approaches to the mound: clay warriors, as it were, are put up to protect it. The earthen walls of the pits were reinforced with wooden beams, the floor was paved with gray bricks, the ceilings above the premises were log, they were covered with mats, a layer of clay to protect against water and several layers of rammed earth. More than 8,000 terracotta figures have been found in three pits, and this is not the limit. Since 1979, the Museum of Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shi Huang has been open here.
Stages of "production"
1 Sculpting the body It was carried out in a tape way - from clay strips 2–4 cm wide and 2–7 cm thick. The body was made hollow to reduce pressure on the legs.
2 Heads, arms and legs were made separately, in two-part forms, according to the technology worked out in the production of clay pipes and tiles. The heads were made hollow.
3 Assembly. The connection of the limbs with the body was fixed with clay strips.
4 Personalization. Plates of armor were applied to the body with a new layer. The face was given special features. A mustache, beard, ears, hairstyle, headdress were attached to the head.
5 Drying and firing. The figures were dried on outdoors in the shade, and then fired in kilns at 800–1200 °C.
6 Painting. Paints were made on an egg basis from pigments of mineral origin.
7 Armament. The soldiers were given real military weapons, some specimens managed to visit the battle.
Pit layout
(1) Pit #1. The largest one is its area of 13,029 m2. About 6,000 warriors in battle order, horses and chariots.
(2) Pit #2- Military camp. Remains of chariots, figures of horses and soldiers.
(3) Pit #3- "Command Headquarters". It has only one chariot with four horses, statues of officers and soldiers of the "guard".
(4) Pit #4 empty - perhaps they simply did not have time to fill it.
"Construction of the century" number two
Under Qin Shi Huang, the fortifications erected along the northern borders to protect against barbarians were united into the Great Wall of China (although the one that has survived to this day was mainly created during the Ming dynasty, XIV-XVII centuries). Qin Shi Huang generally liked to build, especially palaces. However, the cyclopean projects exhausted the state and were a heavy burden for its inhabitants. In fact, the ruler literally took with him to the grave the greatness and prosperity of the empire he created: after the death of Qin Shi Huang in 210 BC. e. uprisings broke out all over the country. As a result, four years later, the dynasty, which, according to his plan, was supposed to rule for 10,000 years, was overthrown.
Photo: Alamy / Legion-media (x2), Reuters / Pix-Stream, Diomedia, iStock (X4), Barcroft / TASS Newsreel
You will find a complete list of 155 wonders that you need to see with your own eyes in the anniversary, December issue of Vokrug Sveta magazine.
The people of China still remember and revere the venerable Qin Shi Huangdi (259-210 B.C.). This is the first emperor of China and a contemporary of Hannibal. It was under him that the Great Wall of China was erected. But the formidable lord became famous not only for this great building. His imagination, will and energy knew no bounds. Therefore, it is by order of this amazing person roads were built throughout the country and a terracotta army was created.
All these works were the result of the unity of the Middle Kingdom. The lord had inexhaustible human resources under his control. He officially ascended the throne in 221 BC. e, and already in 210 BC. e. left the mortal world. That is, a person was in power for only 11 years, but he did so much that would be enough for a whole century. The remains of the emperor were buried in a luxurious tomb, and a huge necropolis was erected around it. It is located in the modern province of Liaoning. This is the eastern part of China in the south of Manchuria (historical region). The province itself borders North Korea.
Terracotta army consists of 8 thousand clay sculptures
Mysteries of the Terracotta Army
The first clay warriors were discovered within the boundaries of the necropolis in 1974. Large-scale excavations were carried out intermittently from 1978 to 1986. At present, archaeological work is ongoing, but the clay army, amazing to the human imagination, is in full force anyone can watch. The figures stand in crypts at a distance of 1.5 km from the tomb of the formidable emperor.
Each clay figure is 2 meters tall and weighs 300 kg.. In total there are 8 thousand such figures. It is noteworthy that all the statues have completely different faces. No face is the same. This was checked using a special computer program, but it did not find any similarities. human traits reflected on clay are different. As if they were living people, not faceless figures.
Now let's imagine how much labor and people had to be expended to create such a large number of huge clay sculptures. It also raises the question of the fact that in that distant time covered with a romantic haze, it was generally not customary to bury the rulers with sculptures. Together with the deceased leader, the corpses of his subjects were placed in the grave. Moreover, the process of killing was very humane.
The faces of the sculptures are completely different
People were not slaughtered like pigs, and the doomed did not rush in horror around the closed room, filling the air with terrible screams. On the contrary, it was considered a great honor to die with the lord. ancient man believed in the afterlife, and therefore dreamed of getting into the realm of shadows along with his leader, whom he faithfully served during his lifetime.
Each of the associates drank a cup of wine, in which there was a large dose of arsenic. After that, he died with a smile on his lips and happiness in his eyes. This method of killing has already been proven in our time. In numerous human remains found in the tombs, experts found a huge concentration of arsenic. So now it is clear how the courtiers and numerous wives of the formidable rulers died.
According to the logic of things, Qin Shi Huangdi was supposed to take living people to the next world, but for some reason he limited himself to clay sculptures. It is explained simply. Numerous wars exhausted the country, and the population decreased significantly. There were few people, and the emperor did not practice mass killing. After all, he thought not only about his ambitions, but also about the future of the country. Therefore, such an original solution was found. It was believed that clay figures would gain souls and represent formidable army in those regions in which the emperor will be after his death.
The height of each sculpture reaches 2 meters,
weight equals 300 kg
How were the terracotta warriors made?
Naturally, looking at 8,000 clay figures, experts wondered how they were made? Try to mold a 2-meter statue weighing 300 kg out of clay. First of all, you need the right material. Any clay will not work, as it simply cannot withstand such a weight, and the sculpture will fall apart. Therefore, for the manufacture of warriors used special red clay. In terms of its chemical and physical parameters, it fully corresponded to the technical tasks.
How ancient masters sculpted sculptures? It is most reasonable to assume that special standard forms were made, and warriors were already created according to them. This would greatly speed up the process. But experts have found that sculptures were made by winding clay. That is, a strip was molded, fit into place, and another strip lay on it. This explains the fact that each clay warrior has strictly individual forms, and even the clothes are depicted differently. Only arms, legs, and ears were made in standard matrices.
Each craftsman who participated in the manufacturing process had his own individual stamp, which he put on the product. They found 87 of them. So, 87 professional craftsmen worked. Each of them had at least 10 apprentices. Consequently, approximately 1000 people were involved in the work.
And one more nuance - temperature regime. If there are large temperature differences, then the clay will not be able to dry, and the product will fall apart. Nowadays, heaters are placed in the premises. They maintain the right temperature. But at that time there was nothing like that, and the temperature was unstable. In summer, the heat was plus 30 degrees Celsius, and in winter the ground was frozen to minus 10 degrees Celsius.
The ancient masters found a way out here too. The entire army was molded in caves, where the temperature regime was constant and amounted to 20-25 degrees Celsius. At this temperature, the clay dries evenly, and the product acquires the desired hardness.
This is what the warriors of the terracotta army looked like 2200 years ago
The next step was varnishing the sculptures.. Nowadays, all warriors are gray, so they look unpresentable. The point here is that when a huge burial was opened, the varnish almost immediately gave up moisture, dried up and crumbled. It would be possible, of course, to protect the sculptures with plastic, but they simply did not have time to think of it before. Therefore, people are not allowed to see the magnificence and beauty that their distant ancestors admired.
Lacquer in this case is a hard resin, which initially has Brown color. It turns black as it dries. For its manufacture, ancient masters used the juice of a lacquer tree. But not anyone, but only the one who is more than 6 years old. The sap of 25 trees was needed to varnish one warrior. In this case, the harmfulness of production should be taken into account. Workers inhaled fumes, which, of course, subsequently affected their health.
Thus, the clay sculptures were covered with black lacquer on top. But that's not all. On top of the varnish, the warriors were painted with multi-colored paint. This is indicated by small flakes of paint found near the sculptures. Moreover, it was the rarest paint - Chinese purple. It is on a par with the Egyptian blue. But in my own way chemical composition these 2 unique paints are different. Egyptian blue is based on calcium, while Chinese violet is based on barium.
The entire terracotta army was made in 11 years. This is just the time of the reign of the formidable emperor. He rested with peace of mind and went to another world at the head of a strong numerous army. It can be assumed that in the world of shadows, the lord, relying on military strength, did many glorious deeds, but we will learn about this only after we ourselves leave the sublunar world.
June 4th, 2011
The burial complex of Emperor Qin Shi Huang is the most important tourist attraction in China. It is located in the ancient city of Xi'an, former capital China for a millennium. Many come to this city just to look at the famous Terracotta Army, which today is the most significant part the tombs of the First Emperor, since the burial complex itself is very rarely visited by tourists. Clay warriors, found in 1974, attract all the attention. At the same time, the Terracotta Army is only a secondary element of the burial, located 1.5 km from the tomb itself, outside the line of the ancient defensive walls that surrounded the entire necropolis.
Getting to the Terracotta Army from Xi'an is easy, there is a constant bus number 306 or 5 from the main city railway station square.
The entire area around the tomb of the First Emperor is defiled by the Chinese in the way that only they can do. There is no strength to describe the kilometer-long rows of shops and stalls, I even got lost in this labyrinth of meaningless structures. All this evil is poked so much that it is difficult to find the entrance to the complex itself.
Main excavation. 
The Terracotta Army dates back to the 2nd-3rd century BC. and is logically attributed to the burial complex of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, although it is located at some distance from it.
More than 8000 clay warriors have been excavated so far, and their number is constantly increasing. Warriors have a height of 180-190 cm, the weight of one soldier is about 130 kg.
Almost all the faces of the Terracotta Army are individual. 
The entire army was equipped with real weapons - crossbows, pikes and swords, most of which may have been borrowed by the rebellious peasants in ancient times, but even now tens of thousands of arrowheads and other types of weapons have been found.
Photo from the Terracotta Army Museum. 
The attention to detail is simply amazing. 
It is assumed that there may be thousands and thousands more warriors in the ground. Figures of officials, musicians and acrobats were also found. 
Not all warriors arrived in perfect condition, most of the figures were crushed by a heavy roof that collapsed in ancient times.
All the figures were very brightly painted, but the colors died from contact with oxygen when the warriors began to be taken to the surface.
Photo from the Terracotta Army Museum. I just don't understand why they have blue noses? :) 
There are many versions that answer the question why all these figures were needed. As you know, in the early days Chinese dynasties Shang, Zhou, it was customary to bury living people, but here they seem to have decided, out of the kindness of their hearts, to replace them with clay copies.
"A warrior who wishes us well." 
The figure of the general is the tallest of all, there is something about 2 meters in it. 
But there is one nuance here. Previously, the number of people buried with the rulers was relatively small - 100-200 people. The number of Qin Shi Huang's warriors is already more than 8,000, and it is not known how many more will be found. Burying an entire army corps alive was probably beyond the power of even the great First Emperor. So we can talk not so much about the "great kindness" of the ruler, but about his increased desires.
In this sense, Qing Shi Huang's wives were unlucky; according to Sima Qian, they were buried in the same way - in kind. Apparently, the Chinese had a correct understanding of this issue - a clay woman cannot replace a real one) As a result, all the childless concubines were buried, there were harsh times.
Bronze models of Qin Shi Huang's chariots. They are made almost life-size, many parts of the harness and the chariots themselves are made of gold and silver.
Sima Qian also testifies that many craftsmen who worked on the mausoleum were buried together with the emperor. Of course, it was just as problematic to bury everyone as it was for the soldiers, because up to 700,000 people worked during the construction of the tomb. Recently, a mass grave of people was found to the west of the Qin Shi Huang pyramid, but there are only about a hundred people there, perhaps they are workers who died on construction. They died like flies, it was a well-known all-China penal servitude.
"Tai Chi Warrior" 
It is probably appropriate to cite the text of Sima Qian here, since this is the main source of our knowledge about the tomb of Qin Shi Huang.
“In the ninth moon, the [ashes] of Shi Huang were buried in Mount Lishan. Shi Huang, having come to power for the first time, at the same time began to break through Mount Lishan and arrange a [vault] in it; having united the Celestial Empire, [he] sent over seven hundred thousand criminals there from all the Celestial Empire. They went deep to the third waters, filled [the walls] with bronze and lowered down the sarcophagus. The crypt was filled with [copies] of palaces transported and lowered there, [figures] of officials of all ranks, rare things and extraordinary jewelry. The masters were ordered to make crossbows, so that, [installed there], they would shoot at those who would try to dig a passage and make their way [to the tomb]. Large and small rivers and seas were made of mercury, and mercury spontaneously overflowed into them. On the ceiling they depicted a picture of the sky, on the floor - the outlines of the earth. The lamps were filled with ren-yu fat in the expectation that the fire would not go out for a long time
Er-shi said: “All the childless inhabitants of the back chambers of the palace of the late emperor should not be driven away,” and ordered all of them to be buried along with the deceased. There were many dead. When the emperor's coffin was already lowered down, someone said that the craftsmen who made all the devices and hid [values] knew everything and could blabbed about the hidden treasures. Therefore, when the funeral ceremony was over and everything was covered, they blocked the middle door of the passage, after which they lowered the outer door, tightly walling up all the artisans and those who filled the grave with valuables, so that no one came out of there. [Above] grass and trees were planted [so that the grave] took the form of an ordinary mountain”
The text is interesting and really, very mysterious.
I am not an expert Chinese translations, but I believe that the meaning in the passage is accurately conveyed. It is noteworthy that Sima Qian does not mention the construction of a giant pyramid in the text. The crypt is pierced in an already supposedly existing mountain. At the same time, most modern scientists recognize the artificiality of the Qin Shi Huang mound. This is such a contradiction..
The road from the Terracotta Army to the actual burial complex passes through very rugged terrain, everything is pitted with pits for some kind of flooded agriculture. I thought that with such a furious digging of the territory by local peasants, it’s not a sin to find the very burial place of the emperor ..
This is what Qin Shi Huang's pyramid looks like now. 
The height of the pyramid at the moment is about 50 meters. It is believed that the original structure was twice as large, different height data are given from 83 meters to 120. The length of the side of the base of the pyramid is 350 meters (For reference, the length of the side of the base of the pyramid of Cheops in Egypt is 230 meters) 
Do not think that Qin Shi Huang's pyramid is such a heap of earth. Below is one of the reconstructions of the tomb. The pyramid was made of the same material as the Great Wall and almost all houses in China and Central Asia, that is, from compressed earth. This material can be as strong as concrete. For example, some earthen sections of the Great Wall of China, built at the turn of our era, during the Han Dynasty, are still standing, and the later walls of stones and baked bricks, from the Ming era, have already collapsed.
The only thing I don't like about this reconstruction is that there are three large steps. In the photo of the French explorer Victor Segalen, taken in 1909, the first and second large steps are clearly visible, then the pyramid, like the entire landscape, was "bald" and the separation of the steps was well read.
According to Sima Qian, it is possible that at the base of the pyramid there was some kind of natural mountain, where the burial of the emperor was arranged. But maybe, as many researchers think, the First Emperor was not buried in his pyramid, his tomb is somewhere nearby.
The base of the pyramid, hidden by trees. 
The top platform of the pyramid of Qin Shi Huang. Now access here has been closed so that tourists do not go "on the head" of the First Emperor of China. It can be seen that the Chinese are trying to mask the upper platform with freshly planted trees. Why is not very clear, probably to completely destroy the brain of various ufologists and other experts on aliens and pracivilizations.
The staircase was dismantled and the opening was planted with trees, so that from a distance it was imperceptible that there was a passage here. 
About 200 meters south of the pyramid I found in the thickets a very decent vertical shaft dug by Chinese comrades. Apparently, they are not sitting idly by, and the search for the entrance to the burial, albeit slowly, is underway ..
This photo clearly shows at what distance from the pyramid the Chinese made this mine in the ground. 
The mine is located inside the perimeter of the fortress walls that surrounded the entire burial complex. There were several such perimeters. The fortress walls of the tomb of Qin Shi Huang are not much inferior in size to the medieval walls of the city of Xi'an, the total length of the walls of the tomb is 12 km, the average height is 10 meters.
Reconstruction of the funerary city of Qin Shi Huang. 
Now the entire courtyard of the burial complex is overgrown with trees and shrubs, and once there were many structures of a ritual nature, only the foundations remained of them. But the walls of the Inner Burial City are visible even now, they are especially well preserved in the south.
Ruins of the southern gate of the complex. There were 10 of them in total. 
The photograph, taken from the height of the pyramid, clearly shows the southeast corner of the fortifications. 
In some places the walls were preserved to a height of two or three meters. 
These bricks are at least 2210 years old... 
I wonder why the pyramid is so significantly reduced in size. Of course time and natural disasters did their job, but most likely the tomb of the First Emperor of China was corny not completed.
This is also pointed out by Sima Qian:
“The throne was succeeded by the [declared] heir of Hu Hai, who became the second emperor-ruler - Er-shi-huangdi”…..
“After the death of Shi Huang, Hu Hai showed extreme stupidity: without completing the work at Mount Lishan, he resumed the construction of the Epan Palace in order to fulfill the plans previously outlined by [his father].”
Those. for the son, the palace was more important than the father's tomb. By the way, the Epan Palace is one of the colossal structures of ancient China, unfortunately, it has not reached us. 
It is for this simple reason that Qin Shi Huang's pyramid is somewhat different from, for example, the more geometrically correct later pyramids of the Han Dynasty. And the point is not even in size, but in the shape of the structure, which just does not exist. The man-made mountain has a square only at the base, and then I have a suspicion that the Chinese designed this on purpose, cutting off part of the loess rock.
Here you can clearly see the first step of the base of the pyramid. 
Here is the first high step neatly hidden by planted trees. 
At the top, the mound is rounded, the edges are almost completely absent. Because of this, I even got lost there - I went down not from the south, but from the west side, and for a long time I could not understand where I was. Do not forget that one side of the Qing Shi Huang pyramid is 350 meters. And only from the air you can see what is there and how, on the ground only one can see a dense forest and a gradual rise of the soil to the center of the structure.
The general view of the southern courtyard of the burial complex is complete emptiness, although a small line of ancient walls can be discerned. 
I originally took this loess terrace, in the photo below, for a dam that protected the burial city of Qin Shi Huang from floods, but the dam is most likely located to the south. The entire province of Shaanxi consists of such loess terraces, so it is not surprising to get confused. 
As in many other places in Shaanxi, Chinese peasants have been digging their houses and barns in the terraces for centuries. The photo shows one of them. 
The surrounding mountains look much more "pyramidal" than the largest Chinese pyramid. No matter how hard you try, the creations of nature will always be more majestic than any human deeds. 
There are 3 capitals in the world known for their ancient values - Rome, Athens and Xi'an. There is a whole army in Xi'an whose purpose was to guard the tomb of the emperor. More than two thousand years have passed, and the immovable soldiers are still standing, silently fulfilling their destiny. Their name is . All the figures are made so realistic that you doubt that they are made of clay: each has its own facial expression. At the same time, absolutely everyone is different - there is not a single soldier who would be similar to another.
The Terracotta Army is located in the Xi'an province near the city of Lintong. A stone army accompanies the burial of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. It was on his initiative that they began to build and. There is no doubt that the purpose of this army was to guard the emperor and fight for him in the Realm of Death. So far, 8,000 figures have been found in underground halls or pits. That's what it is . 
Foot soldiers, archers, crossbow shooters, cavalrymen, war chariots with horses are lined up in battle order. The height of the warriors is from 1.6 to 1.7 meters, and none is like the other. Everyone is in different poses - someone is standing like a pillar, someone is holding a sword, as if repelling an attack, and someone, kneeling, is pulling a bowstring. The statues themselves are hollow, except for the legs, otherwise they would not have been able to stand for so long.
Previously, the entire army was painted in bright colors, but over time, the paint, of course, came off. Not all figures of warriors depict the Chinese, there are also Mongols, Uighurs, Tibetans and so on. All details of clothing or hairstyle strictly correspond to the fashion of that time. Everyone has their own weapon, by the way, for many it is not stone, but the most worthless. True, most of the swords and bows were stolen in ancient times by marauders.
Terracotta Army: Interesting Facts
In 246 BC, after the death of King Zhuang Xiang-wang, his son Ying Zheng, known in history as Qin Shi Huangdi, ascended the throne of the Qin kingdom.
By the middle of the 3rd century BC, the Qin kingdom occupied a rather vast territory. By the time of accession to the throne, Ying Zheng was only thirteen years old, until he came of age, the first adviser to the king, Lu Bu-wei, actually ruled the state.
In 230 BC, Ying Zheng sent a huge army against the neighboring kingdom of Han. The Qin defeated the Han troops, captured the Han king An Wang and occupied the entire territory of the kingdom, turning it into a Qin district. This was the first kingdom conquered by the Qin. In subsequent years, their army captured the kingdoms of Zhao, Wei, Yan, Qi.
By 221 BC, the Qin kingdom had victoriously ended the long struggle for the unification of the country. In place of scattered kingdoms, a single empire with centralized power is being created. Since Ying Zheng became the first emperor of the Qin dynasty, he ordered himself to be called Shi Huangdi - "the first highest emperor." He was in fact an unlimited head of state and was distinguished by a special despotism.
The first emperor did not doubt for a minute that his dynasty would rule forever, and therefore tried to create attributes appropriate for eternity. Especially rapid development during the period of the empire was the construction business. During his reign, beautiful palaces were built (the largest palace was the Efangong Palace, erected by Qin Shi Huang near the capital of the empire, on the south bank of the Wei-he River). In order to protect the outskirts of the empire from enemies, Qin Shi Huang decided to start building a grandiose structure - a defensive wall along the entire northern border of the empire, which is known to our contemporaries as the Great Wall of China.
In 210 BC, the almighty Qin Shi Huang passed away, his body was buried in a special mausoleum. Detailed description grandiose underground palace and a colossal mound above it belongs to the father Chinese history Sima Qian - the chief court historiographer of the emperor. 700 thousand slaves, soldiers and forced peasants participated in the construction of the mausoleum for 37 years.
So many people built and.
The records indicate that the perimeter of the mound was 2.5 kilometers, and its height reached 166 meters (now the preserved earthen hill, resembling a pyramid, is 560 meters long, 528 meters wide and 34 meters high). Qin Shi Huang sincerely believed that he could rule his empire even from the underworld. For this, he believed, he would need an army - this is how the terracotta army appeared. Even during his lifetime, the emperor wanted clay idols to go to another world with him after death, as he believed that the souls of imperial soldiers would move into them (in any case, this is what an old Chinese legend says).
The warrior statues were made from the casts of Emperor Qin Shi Huang's elite bodyguards. The manufacturing technology was as follows. The main material for statues is terracotta, that is, yellow or red fired unglazed clay. First, the body was molded. The lower part of the statue was monolithic and, accordingly, massive. It is on it that the center of gravity falls. Top part hollow. The head and arms were attached to the body after it had been fired in the kiln. At the end, the sculptor covered the head with an additional layer of clay and sculpted the face, giving it an individual expression. That is why each warrior is distinguished by his individual appearance, the authenticity of the details of clothing and ammunition. The sculptor accurately conveyed the hairstyle of each warrior, which was the subject of special attention at that time. The firing of the figures lasted several days, at a constant temperature not lower than 1,000 degrees Celsius. As a result, the clay from which the warriors were fashioned became as strong as granite.
The tomb of the emperor stands 100 meters west of the pits with the terracotta soldiers. Qin Shi Huang himself died in 210 BC, this date should be considered the approximate date of the construction of the terracotta army. The tomb itself also deserves attention. It is assumed that more than 70,000 people were buried with the emperor: courtiers, servants and concubines, who could serve their master in another world as well as during his lifetime.
Why "assumed"? The fact is that no one knows where to look for the entrance. It may very well be that those workers who built the tomb were then killed and buried there - so that the secret would never be revealed. And now the pyramid is under a large earthen rampart. By the way, a clay army would have been under the same rampart if scientists had not dug it up.
It is not entirely clear why Terracotta Army of China and the tomb turned out to be buried under a large layer of earth. Scientists doubt that they were deliberately buried. Most are still inclined to another version: most likely, this happened due to a big fire (traces of fire were found). Perhaps the robbers either could not get into the tomb, where, in their opinion, there should have been a lot of treasures. Angry, they started a big fire. It is possible that they nevertheless got inside the tomb, and they needed a fire to eliminate the traces of the crime. One way or another, the fire led to a collapse, burying thousands of clay troops in wet ground for more than two thousand years...
Terracotta Army: Discovery Story
Until 1974, the existence of the terracotta army was not even suspected. It was in this year that several peasants began to dig a well, but were forced to suspend their work - suddenly, right out of the ground, they began to dig statues of soldiers in human height, besides people, horses and whole chariots appeared.
The well, of course, was no longer dug, archaeological excavations began here, and the most unusual for all recent times. Thousands of soldiers and animals were taken into the world.
In total, 3 holes were dug, slightly distant from each other. The first contained statues of foot soldiers, chariots and archers. This pit is the deepest - 5 meters, and its area is 229 by 61 meters. In the second pit, smaller in size, there were not 6,000 soldiers, as in the first, but only 100. The smallest recess hid 68 figures, obviously depicting the command headquarters. Nowadays, everyone can look at the terracotta army. True, only the first pit is reserved for the museum, but the main part of all the statues is located there.
Video footage of the excavations is shown in the museum, and other figures are on display, including two miniature bronze chariots with horses and half-life-size charioteers. The latter were discovered in 1980 and represent precisely those vehicles, which were used by the emperor, his concubines and the staff of the courtiers. In order to further preserve this miracle, a pavilion with a vaulted ceiling was built above the terracotta army. Its dimensions are 200 by 72 meters. In shape, it resembles an indoor pool or stadium.
The excavations are not yet fully completed, they are still ongoing. And they probably won't end soon. The reason for this is not only the size of the tomb and not the lack of financial assistance to archaeologists from the state. To a greater extent, this is the eternal fear of the Chinese before the world of the dead. Even today they treat the ashes of their ancestors with trepidation, fearing to defile it with their unholy touch. So, according to Professor Yuan Jungai: "Many more years will pass before we can finally continue excavations." The find in Xi'an Province has a huge historical meaning. It made it possible to learn about how the ancient Chinese army was equipped. And besides, it is a real sculptural miracle.
Terracotta Army: how to get there
Usually, the attractions depart from Beijing or Shanghai, but you can fly directly to Xi'an. If you go through the first 2 cities, then from there you can get to Xi'an by car (11 hours drive), by train (6 hours) or by plane (2.5 hours on the way).
From Xi'an, the Terracotta Army can be reached by buses No. 306, 914, 915. They will take you to the place in an hour. Ticket price within 12 yuan.
