July 11: What Happened Today In History

Terracotta Army Discovered – 1975

On this date in 1975, Chinese archeologists announced to the world that they had uncovered a 3-acre burial mound that featured 6,000 terracotta (clay) statues of warriors and horses. The statues are life-sized, and each one is an individual, one-of-a-kind—in other words, each and every face is different!

The statues were buried in pits, in battle formation, as if they were guarding the tomb of China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang. The location of the burial mound, which dates from 210 B.S., is the near the ancient city of Xian.

Actually, estimates of the number of warrior statues is now 8,000 (both the 6,000 figure and this new, higher number are estimates, because most are still buried). Along with the 6 to 8 thousand warriors are 130 chariots with 520 horses, plus 150 cavalry horses.

This amazing archeological find was made by some local farmers digging a well. Can you imagine accidentally stumbling on something like this?