Freshly excavated Terracotta Army soldiers with traces of their original paint, 1974 [1284X820].

On March 23, 1974, a 41-year-old farmer named Yang Zhifa, along with his five brothers and a neighbor, left their village to dig a well. They headed toward Mount Li, less than a mile (1.5 km) from the tomb of China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang.

Six days later, on March 29th, Zhifa struck something unexpected: a terracotta head, along with a bronze arrowhead and other fragments. This discovery would lead to one of the greatest archaeological finds in history, the Terracotta Army, buried for over 2,000 years.

Excavations covering roughly 20,000 square meters have uncovered around 7,000 life-sized warriors, along with hundreds of horses, about 100 wooden chariots, and tens of thousands of weapons. In total, over 40,000 bronze swords, spears, daggers, and crossbows have been found, along with armor and helmets.

The figures range from about 5'9" (1.75 m) to 6'7" (2 m), with officers generally taller. They differ in uniform, hairstyle, and rank, and remarkably, each face is unique. Scholars believe artisans used around ten base facial types and customized them, possibly modeling them on real soldiers.

The army includes a wide range of units: armored and unarmored infantry, cavalry, charioteers, archers (both standing and kneeling), and high-ranking officers.

Originally, the figures were brightly painted with pigments made from minerals such as cinnabar and malachite. With lacquered surfaces, detailed facial features, and vivid colors, they would have looked strikingly lifelike, far from the muted tones we see today.

They were mass-produced in workshops near Mount Li. Artisans made heads, arms, legs, and torsos separately, then assembled and fired them in kilns before arranging them in formation according to rank and role.

Built for Qin Shi Huang, the Terracotta Army stands as a symbol of his power and ambition and remains one of the most extraordinary archaeological discoveries ever made.

If you’re interested, I wrote a longer piece about Qin Shi Huang and the Terracotta Army here: https://open.substack.com/pub/aid2000/p/hare-brained-history-vol-80-qin-shi?r=4mmzre&utm\\\_medium=ios