Remnants of the Terracotta Army
Photographed in Pit #2
Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China
June 24, 2007
at flickr
For decades, the Emperor of China prepared for his death by having a life-size army built out of terracotta. Thousands of soldier statues, each with unique faces and distinctive features, were buried with him to protect him in the afterlife. After two thousand years, three pits have so far been unearthed and are open for display to the public. Each pit is in a different stage of digging, with some soldiers standing at attention in full ranks, others completely covered, and still others smashed apart like these, a result of an act of vandalism only a few years after they were buried. The site of these soldiers in these tombs is truly awe-inspiring, and to know that there are still more to be uncovered is very nearly unbelievable. Archaeologists have plans to leave most of what is left buried alone, to protect the statues from degradation, and to also leave something for future generations to discover.
NIKON D200 1/3 sec at f/5.6 130mm ISO:1600