The Terracotta Army in Xi’An, China, has been EarthFlagged!

This large collection of terracotta sculptures depicts individual soldiers and horses from the armies of the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, that were buried with the emperor in about 210 BCE. The sculpted army serves as funerary art with the symbolic purpose of protecting the emperor in the afterlife.

The site of the tomb lies at the same location as the ancient capital of Xianyang, and up until the discovery of the tomb in 1974, the Terracotta Army remained undisturbed for over 2,000 years. Since that initial discovery, archaeologists have located almost 600 other pits over a 22-square-mile (57 square-kilometer) area that remains mostly unexcavated to this day.

Each terracotta figure displays individual characteristics, from differing facial features to subtilties in their attire, providing ample information for archeologists and historians to better understand the culture of that time period in ancient China.

Mysteries still abound about the intricate and expansive Terracotta Army, but the insight gained so far from its study has already greatly improved our understanding of ancient Chinese culture.

Photo by Lucy Walsh