Since the discovery of the Terracotta Warriors in 1974, archaeological work on Emperor Qinshihuang's mausoleum in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, has continued for five decades, yielding many important findings and enhancing understanding of the emperor of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) and his era. Presented below are key discoveries made over the past 50 years.
1. Terracotta Warriors No 1, 2 and 3 pits: The No 1 Pit was discovered in 1974 when local farmers were drilling wells. Then archaeologists discovered No 2 and No 3 pits to the north of it in 1976, which join to constitute a group of satellite pits, about 1.5 kilometers from Emperor Qinshihuang's main grave. The three pits cover an area of 14,260, 6,000 and 520 square meters and have yielded about 8,000 Terracotta Warriors and horses, over 100 model chariots and more than 40,000 bronze weapons.
The Terracotta army is arranged in a military formation, with three divisions and a command center. They symbolize the garrison guarding Qin's capital, Xianyang, during the reign of Emperor Qinshihuang.
The discovery of the Terracotta Warriors pits has provided various research topics of the Qin Dynasty, such as the types of troops, equipment, organization, formation of the army, manufacturing techniques of Terracotta Warriors, and the production techniques of the weapons.
