The Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses are the most significant archeological excavations of the 20th century. Work is ongoing at this site, which is around 1.5 kilometers east of Emperor Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum, Lintong County, Shaanxi Province. It is a sight not to be missed by any visitor to China.
Upon ascending the throne at the age of 13 (in 246 BC), Qin Shi Huang, later the first Emperor of all China, had begun to work for his mausoleum. It took 11 years to finish. It is speculated that many buried treasures and sacrificial objects had accompanied the emperor in his after life. A group of peasants uncovered some pottery while digging for a well nearby the royal tomb in Array in Pit 11974. It caught the attention of archeologists immediately. They came to Xian in droves to study and to extend the digs. They had established beyond doubt that these artifacts were associated with the Qin Dynasty (211-206 BC).
[Images and photos courtesy of TravelChinaGuide.com]
The Bowers Museum, where I went to see the exhibit, did not allow any photography at all, so I'm uploading some pictures from the site in China.
The exhibit was very cool, I got to see a few of the warriors - they're quite amazing. What's also amazing is that most of them were shattered into pieces when the Qin dynasty fell, and they lay undiscovered until 1964 (like, 2000 years!!). The restoration work involved painstaking reconstruction. This is what I call the jigsaw puzzle from hell.
I went to the exhibit with the Brown Women's Committee. I always enjoy going to their events, I meet such fascinating Brown alumna. Today I had lunch with my friend Brooke, two other attorneys and a clinical psychologist. I wish I'd had her card when I went on my date with the rude guy from IJL.
Once again too tired to really blog. More tomorrow.
