Editing Terracotta Army (section)

== Excavation site ==
[[File:Terracotta warriors museum.JPG|thumb|The museum complex containing the excavation sites]]

=== Pits ===
[[Image:Terracotta Army Pit 1 - 2.jpg|thumb|View of Pit 1, the largest excavation pit of the Terracotta Army]]

Four main pits approximately {{cvt|7|m}} deep have since been uncovered in the site excavations.<ref name="lecture">{{cite web |url=http://www.history.ucsb.edu/faculty/barbierilow/Courses/fall%20of%20qin%20and%20tomb/player.html |title=The Necropolis of First Emperor of Qin |publisher=History.ucsb.edu |access-date=3 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111120072354/http://www.history.ucsb.edu/faculty/barbierilow/Courses/fall%20of%20qin%20and%20tomb/player.html |archive-date=20 November 2011 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name="lothar">{{cite book |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/6694321/LedderoseA-Magic-Army-for-the-Emperor |title=A Magic Army for the Emperor |author=Lothar Ledderose |access-date=15 September 2017 |archive-date=10 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110144637/http://www.scribd.com/doc/6694321/LedderoseA-Magic-Army-for-the-Emperor |url-status=live }}</ref> These are located approximately {{cvt|1.5|km}} east of the burial mound. The soldiers within were laid out as if to protect the tomb from the east, where the Qin Emperor's conquered states lay, and were discovered 7 m below the excavation level.<ref name="metmuseum.org">{{Cite web |title=Making the Warrior: The Qin Terracotta Soldiers in *Age of Empires* - The Metropolitan Museum of Art |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/articles/terracotta-warriors-age-of-empires |access-date=2024-05-22 |website=www.metmuseum.org |date=10 July 2017 |language=en}}</ref>

====Pit 1====
Pit 1, which is {{cvt|230|m}} long and {{cvt|62|m}} wide,<ref name="Lothar">{{Cite web |title="A Magic Army for the Emperor" Lothar Ledderose, Ten Thousand Things. Moduleand Mass Production in Chinese Art, Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1998, pp.51 - 73 |url=https://www.scribd.com/document/6694321/Ledderose-A-Magic-Army-for-the-Emperor |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911135328/https://www.scribd.com/document/6694321/Ledderose-A-Magic-Army-for-the-Emperor |archive-date=11 September 2021 |access-date=1 February 2023 |website=Scribd}}</ref> contains the main army of more than 3,000 figures.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/kuaixun/74862.htm |title=The Mausoleum of the First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty and Terracotta Warriors and Horses |publisher=China.org.cn |date=12 September 2003 |access-date=3 December 2011 |archive-date=7 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207141448/http://china.org.cn/english/kuaixun/74862.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> It is the largest of the four pits and has eleven parallel corridors, most more than {{cvt|3|m|round=5}} wide and paved with small bricks with a wooden ceiling supported by large beams and posts.<ref name="metmuseum.org"/> This design was also used for the tombs of nobles and would have resembled palace hallways when built. The wooden ceilings were covered with reed mats and layers of clay for waterproofing, and then mounded with more soil raising them about {{cvt|2|to|3|m}} above the surrounding ground level when completed.{{sfn|Portal|2007}}

==== Others ====

Pit 2 has cavalry and infantry units as well as [[Chariot (China)|war chariots]] and is thought to represent a military guard. Pit 3 is the command post, with high-ranking officers and a war chariot. Pit 4 is empty, perhaps left unfinished by its builders.

Some of the figures in Pits 1 and 2 show fire damage, while remains of burnt ceiling rafters have also been found.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8676886.stm |title=China unearths 114 new Terracotta Warriors |work=BBC News |date=12 May 2010 |access-date=3 December 2011 |archive-date=29 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230329073021/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8676886.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> These, together with the missing weapons, have been taken as evidence of the reported looting by Xiang Yu and the subsequent burning of the site, which is thought to have caused the roof to collapse and crush the army figures below. The terracotta figures currently on display have been restored from the fragments.

Other pits that formed the necropolis have also been excavated.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/xian/terracotta/pits.htm |title=Terracotta Accessory Pits |publisher=Travelchinaguide.com |date=10 October 2009 |access-date=3 December 2011 |archive-date=28 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928044003/https://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/xian/terracotta/pits.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> These pits lie within and outside the walls surrounding the tomb mound. They variously contain bronze carriages, terracotta figures of entertainers such as acrobats and strongmen, officials, stone armour suits, burial sites of horses, rare animals and labourers, as well as bronze cranes and ducks set in an underground park.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/m/daminggong/2010-05/13/content_9845517_3.htm |title=Decoding the Mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shihuang |work=China Daily |date=13 May 2010 |access-date=3 December 2011 |archive-date=18 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218091447/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/m/daminggong/2010-05/13/content_9845517_3.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>