The Tomb of the First Emperor of China was discovered by chance in 1974 when farmers excavating for a well unearthed six clay warrior sculptures. Archaeological study uncovered three massive subterranean chambers (known to as “pits”) containing shattered shards of terracotta soldiers as the finding gained national attention. These life-sized, life-like ceramic figurines show warriors, with every detail of their clothing beautifully depicted and remnants of their original paint still visible at the time of their discovery. The terracotta warriors were unlike any tomb figurines ever discovered. Moreover, holes 1, 2, and 3 were only a minor section of what turned out to be the First Emperor’s huge tomb complex.
The First Emperor (born Ying Zheng), initially ruled as the king of the Qin state. Through forceful military campaigns, he conquered the states occupying much of the current territory of China, bringing an end to the Warring States Period. He reformed the culturally and politically distinct states into a sing
In 221 B.C.E., he officially declared himself Qin Shi Huangdi, a title he coined himself commonly rendered as the “First Emperor” that literally translates to “First August Emperor of Qin.” This was no empty gesture—the First Emperor’s reforms and unification would forever change the meaning of rulership in East Asia.
Among his monumental building projects was a monumental tomb of unprecedented splendor, whose scale and luxury became, with the passage of ᴛι̇ɱe, the matter of legend. Nevertheless, none of the fantastic tales found in the written record prepared archaeologists for what they would find in the Mausoleum of the First Emperor.
Source: fancy4zone.com
