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The terracotta warriors and horses, created about 2,200 years ago, were found in 1974 on the east side of the tomb of the First Emperor Qin Shihuang (259 BC - 210 BC) near Xi'an. The site is now the famous Terra-cotta Museum, which consists of three main buildings, Pit 1, Pit 2 and Pit 3. The three pits occupy an area of 22,000 square meters, housing about 8,000 life-size pottery warriors and horses.
Pit 1 is the largest of the three. It contains over 6,000 life-size terracotta warriors and horses in a practical battle formation, which is the main force of the underground army. Pit 2, discovered in 1976, contains more than 1,300 pottery figures, which are specialized military forces, including archers, chariots, and cavalries. Pit 3 is the smallest of the three, containing only 68 pottery figures and one chariot. Pit 3 is the command center of the entire army.
The terracotta warriors are about 1.8 meters in height on average. Each of them has an individualized appearance, characterized mainly by its facial features, such as the mouth, hairstyle and facial expression. Experts believe they are modeled on real soldiers.
About 600 satellite pits and tombs have been unearthed in the surrounding area of the tomb of the First Emperor since the discovery of terracotta warriors and horses in 1974. Thirty-one pits of rare animals and birds and 98 sets of the stable pits have been unearthed.
The well-known Terra-cotta Museum is located east of Emperor Qin's Mausoleum, which covers a total area of 20 hectares. The museum is decorated with green trees. The scenery in the museum are quite elegant and delightful. Three main buildings of the museum, which were named Pit 1,Pit 2, Pit 3, were set up on their original sites in different periods of time.
It is recorded that in March, 1974, the farmers from Xiyang Village of Yanzhai Township in Lintong District of Xian accidentally discovered many broken pottery figures while digging a well, 1.5 km away to east of Emperor Qin Shihuang's Tomb. After archaeological excavation and careful research, it turned out to be a pit in which were buried terra-cotta warriors and horses from the Qin Dynasty. In 1976, after drilling, another two pits were found one by one nearby. They were named Pit 1, 2 and 3 according to the timing of discovery with a total area of 22,780 square metres.
This profound discovery made a sensation across the whole world! In 1975, the State Council offered permission that a museum with an area of 16,300 square metres be built on the site of Pit No. 1 at the aim of protecting the valuable historical relics. The museum was officially finished and opened to the public on October 01, National Day, 1979. The exhibition hall of Pit No. 3 was finished and opned to the public on September 27, 1989. 5 years later, the exhibition hall of Pit No. 2 was open to the public in October, 1994. The museum and the mausoleum are listed the world's cultural legacies as the UNESCO.
Pit No. 1 is in an oblong shape of tunnel. It is 230 metres long from east to west and 62 metres wide from north to south. It is 5 metres deep. It occupies an area of 14,260 square metres. Inside the tunnel, there are ten earth-rammed partition walls. The floors are bricks-paved. The terra-cotta warriors and horses in Pit No. 1 are lined in a real battle formation. To the east end of the pit stand facing east three rows of terra-cotta warriors in battle tunics and puttees, 70 in each row with total number of 210 put altogether. Armed with bows and arrows, they form the vanguard. The ten rammed partition walls cut Pit No. 1 into eleven latitudinal passage ways. There are 38 columns of warriors in the east with horse-drawn chariots in the centre. The armour-clad warriors carrying long-shaft weapons are probably the main body of the formation and show the main force.
Pit No. 2 is situated 20 metres to the north of Pit No. 1. The Pit is L--shaped and composed of four different mixed military forces in four rows. It is recorded that there were more than 1, 000 pieces of pottery figures, 500 horse-driven chariots and saddled horses. The pit is about 6,000 square metres.
Pit No. 3 is situated 25 metres to the north of Pit No. 1 and to the west of Pit No. 2. Tthe pit is in the concave shape with 520 square metres. From the pit were discovered one chariot, four terra-cotta horses and 68 clay armoured warriors. In Pit No. 3 were only unearthed one kind of weapon called "shu", which had no blades and are siad to be used by the guards of honour. Discovered also in this pit were a re- maining deer-horn and animal bones. This is maybe the site where sacrificial offerings and war prayers were practiced.