Why were thousands of life-sized clay soldiers buried in China?
An emperor built an entire army for the afterlife.
The answer
The Terracotta Army, discovered by farmers in 1974 near Xi'an, China, consists of over 8,000 life-sized clay soldiers, horses, and chariots buried around 210 BCE to guard Emperor Qin Shi Huang in the afterlife. Remarkably, no two faces are identical - each was individually sculpted with unique hairstyles, expressions, and armor. The emperor, who unified China and began the Great Wall, believed this clay legion would protect him for eternity.
Source: National Geographic
- China
- archaeology
- ancient world
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