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In March 1974， when several farmers were sinking a well about 1.5 kilometers east of the First Qin Emperor's Mausoleum， they came upon many fragments of terracotta figures. The results of archaeological excavation showed that it was an oblong pit with terracotta warriors and horses. Again in 1976， two more pits were discovered 20 meters and 25 meters north of the former one respectively. They were then named Pit 1， Pit 2， and Pit 3 by the order of discovery. The three pits cover a total area of 22，780 square meters.
The new discovery stirred up a sensation all over the world. In order to provide the historical artifacts with adequate protection， a museum with a floor space of 16，300 square meters was set up on the site of Pit 1 in 1975 upon the approval of the State Council. It was officially open to the public on October 1，1979. The exhibition hall of Pit 3 was open to the public on September 27，1989. The exhibition hall of Pit 2 was completed and opened to the public in 1994. The Museum of the Terracotta Army， one of the top ten places of historical interest in China， was also listed as the World Cultural Heritage by the UNESCO.
Pit 1 takes an oblong shape. It is 230 meters long， 62 meters wide and five meters deep. It covers an area of 14，260 square meters. It is an earth-and-wood structure in the shape of a tunnel. There are five sloping entrances on the eastern and western sides respectively. Inside the pit are ten earth-rammed partition walls， across which huge and strong rafters are placed. The rafters are covered with mats and fine earth. The floor is paved with bricks.
The terracotta warriors and horses in Pit 1 are arrayed in battle formation. In the long corridor to the east end of the pit stand three rows of terracotta warriors facing east in battle robes， 70 in each， totaling 210 altogether. Armed with bows and arrows， they constitute the vanguard. There is one row of warriors in the south， north and west of the corridor respectively， facing outward. They are probably the flanks and the rear guard. Holding crossbows and arrows and other long-distance shooting weapons， they took up the job of defending the whole army. The ten rammed partition walls divided Pit 1 into 11 latitudinal corridors where stand 38 columns of warriors facing east with horse-drawn chariots in the center. The warriors， clad in armor and armed with longshaft weapons， are probably the main body of the formation and represent the principal force. There are altogether 27 trail trenches. According to the density of the formation in each trail， it is assumed that more than 6，000 terracotta warriors and horses could be unearthed from Pit 1， most of which are infantrymen.
Pit 2 is located 20 meters to the north of the eastern end of Pit 1. The pit is measured 6，000 square meters. The Pit is L-shaped and consists of four different mixed military forces in four arrays. It is estimated that there are over 1，000 terracotta figures， 500 horse-drawn chariots and saddled horses. The first array， the eastern protruding part of the pit， is composed of 334 archers. To the south of the pit is the second array， including the first through the eighth passage ways. It is composed of 64 chariots， each of which carries three warriors. The third array， the middle of the pit， including the ninth through the eleventh passage ways， is composed of 19 chariots and 100 infantrymen. The fourth array to the north of the pit， including the 12th through the 14th passage ways， is composed of six chariots， 124 saddled horses and cavalrymen.The four arrays are closely connected to constitute a complete battle formation and can be divided up to act independently， capable of attacking and defending and quick response. Three of the four arrays in Pit 2 have charioteers. The chariots took up most of the battle formation. This proves that charioteers were still the principal fighting forces in the Qin Dynasty. The wooden chariots have become decayed with age， but the shafts and wheels left clear traces in the clay. The bronze parts of the chariots remain intact.Pit 3 is located 25 meters to the north of Pit 1 and to the west of Pit 2. The plane of the pit is of concave shape， totaling about 520 square meters. One chariot， four terracotta horses and 68 clay armored warriors were unearthed out of the pit. To its east there is a sloping entrance， 11.2 meters long， 3.7 meters wide， opposite which is a stable. On both sides of the stable， there is a winging room. 68 terracotta figures were unearthed from it. The arrangement of the terracotta figures is quite different from that in Pit 1 and Pit 2， in which the warriors are placed in battle formation. But those in Pit 3 are arrayed opposite to each other along the walls， in two rows. Even the weapons held by the warriors in Pit 3 are different from those in Pit 1 and Pit 2. The latter were armed with long-range cross-bows and bows and short weapons such as spears， barbed spears， swords and axes. Only one kind of weapon called “shu” was discovered in Pit 3. This kind of weapon had no blades and is believed to be used by the guards of honor. Pit 3 also unearthed a remaining deer-horn and animal bones. This is probably the place where sacrificial offerings and war prayers were practiced. Judging by the layout of Pit 3， this is most likely the headquarters directing the mighty underground army.
Archaeological excavations show that Pit 1 and Pit 2 were destroyed after a fire.When it was burnt down and who did it was not recorded in history. There are various opinions about its destruction in the academic circle. The floors of both Pit 1 and Pit 2 were covered with a layer of silt， 15 to 20 centimeters thick. The remains of crossbeams and logs burnt to ashes can be clearly seen and most of the relics remain fragmented. This illustrates that the pits were destroyed soon after they were completed.According to historical records， four years after the First Qin Emperor's death， Xiang Yu came， and “burnt the palaces and dug up the grave”. Archaeological discoveries also proved that there are many broken bricks and tiles piled up inside the ruins of the ground structure of the mausoleum， with burnt clay， coal and ash traces. The pits are only 1.5 kilometers away from the mausoleum， so it was perhaps destroyed together with other structures within the tomb area by Xiang Yu.
Pottery figures first appeared in the Warring States Period in China， but they were small in size and roughly made with low temperature. The Qin terracotta warriors and horses were not only big in size， but also exquisite in craftsmanship. The height of the terracotta warriors varies from 1.78 meters （the shortest） to 1.97 meters （the tallest）.Their weights are also different. The lightest is less than 110 kilograms and the heavies to 300 kilograms. In order to keep the balance of the terracotta warriors， the workmen in the Qin Dynasty added a pedal to each warrior under his feet， so that the warriors would stand more firmly. The foot pedals were made in molds. The feet， shoes， legs and armors of the warriors were made by hand. Some legs are hollow， and some are solid. The solid ones were made separately， but the hollow ones were made by the ring-building method. The bodies of the warriors are all hollow， made with the previously-mentioned method. Some were made separately and then joined together to complete the work.
There are also two kinds of arms： hollow and solid. The hollow arms were made by the ring-building method， and the solid ones were made separately. There are two ways of making the hands： molding and hand-shaping. The most sophisticated technique of processing is the heads. Two molds were used first of all to make faces and most parts of the heads， and the two parts were joined together. Ears and noses which were made separately were added later on. The roughly made models were carved exquisitely in detail according to their personal strata and characters. Finally， moustache and hair in various styles were made. After careful and detailed engraving， the terracotta warriors look vivid， different in appearance and expressions. It is presumed that these warriors were made according to the real valiant Qin army soldiers.
After the terracotta warriors were readily made， they were put into kilns to be fired. In order to prevent the warriors from deforming or exploding， one， two or even three small holes were made in the body of the warriors and horses. After the horses were fired， the small holes in the body were covered with terracotta cakes of the same size. Most of the terracotta heads were fit in the body after being fired， so the necks of the terracotta heads were natural ventilation holes. Thus， the air stream produced in the firing process of the terracotta warriors and horses could be expelled， and the figures would not explode. The clay figures were carefully painted with colors after they were baked. As the terracotta figures have been burnt and gone through a natural process of decay， we can't see their original gorgeous colors. However， most of the figures bear the traces of the original colors， and a few of them are still as bright as new.They are found to be painted with mineral dye stuffs of red， green， yellow， purple，brown， white， black， pink， vermilion， etc. This demonstrates that the Chinese people used these dye stuffs extensively over 2，000 years ago. It is of great significance not only in the history of color-painting art， but also in the history of world science and technology.
The pits are located to the east of the First Qin Emperor's Mausoleum， symbolizing the main defending force that guarded the Qin capital， Xianyang. All the terracotta figures in the pits face east with practical weapons. This shows that the First Qin Emperor would never forget his great ambition to conquer the six states and to unify the whole nation. Thousands of real weapons were unearthed from the pits， including broad knives， swords， spears， dagger-axes， halberds， cross-bows， arrows， and arrow heads.The weapons can be classified into four categories： long-shafted weapons， short weapons， long-range weapons and weapons for guards of honor. They were delicately made and enjoyed a high level of casting technology.
The most arresting among the weapons is a bronze sword， which still glitters in metallic luster without being rusting， though buried underground for over 2，000 years.Being very sharp， the sword can cut through 20 pieces of paper put together. Technical examination reveals that the sword is composed of an alloy of copper and tin， and more than ten other rare metals. It is plated with a thin layer （10-15 microns） of oxidated chromium， which proves that the weapon was oxidated with chromium when it was made. The technology of chromium coating was invented by a German in the 1930s，but in China chromium-coating technique was employed in the making of weapons over 2，000 years ago. It is really a wonder and compels admiration.
Hundreds of crossbow triggers were also discovered in the pits. Their bolts and suspending knives can be used interchangeably， with a tolerance error of one millimeter. The arrowheads are divided into four kinds. The outline of the three sides of the arrow heads of the same kind has a tolerance error of 0.15 millimeter. From this， we can see that weapon manufacturing was already standardized just to meet the war needs.This also shows that the metallurgical technology and weapon-making technique reached a high standard in the Qin Dynasty.
In December 1980， two sets of large painted bronze chariots and horses were unearthed 20 meters west of the First Qin Emperor's Mausoleum. They were labeled as Chariot No.1 and Chariot No.2 respectively by the order of discovery. They had been enclosed in a wooden coffin and buried in a pit seven meters deep. When excavated，the chariots and horses were seriously damaged due to the decayed wooden coffin and the collapse of earthen layers. No.2 bronze chariot and horses were found broken into 1，555 pieces when excavated. After two-and a half years of careful and painstaking restoration by archaeologists and other experts， they were finally open to the public on October 1，1983. No.1 bronze chariot and horses were also open to the public in 1988.
The bronze chariots drawn by four horses， with a single shaft， were placed one before the other vertically. The front chariot， No.1 Chariot was named “High Chariot”.The back chariot， No.2 Chariot was named “Security Chariot”， and also called “Airconditioned Chariot”. It has a front room and a back room， between which there is a partition. The front room is supposed to be for the charioteer and the rear one for the master （emperor）. There is a window on either side with a door at the back. The windows and doors could close and open easily. The small holes in the windows were used for ventilation. On top of the chariot， there was an elliptical umbrella-like canopy.The chariot was color-painted against a white background. No.2 Chariot was fitted with more than 1，500 pieces of silver and gold and other ornaments. Probably it was used for the First Qin Emperor's soul to go out on inspection. No.1 Chariot was equipped with crossbows， arrowheads and shields. The charioteer wore a hat. This shows that it was employed to protect the No.2 Chariot behind.
The chariots and horses are exactly the imitations of actual chariots and horses in half life-size. Each chariot with horses is composed of 3，400 components. The bronze chariot is 3.17 meters long and 1.06 meters high. The bronze horse is 65-67 centimeters high， 1.2 meters long. Their weights vary from 177 kilograms， the lightest， to 212.9 kilograms， the heaviest. The total weight of the chariot， the horses and the driver is 1，243 kilograms. The main body is cast in bronze. There are altogether 1，720 pieces of gold and silver ornaments on the chariots and horses， with a total weight of seven kilograms of silver and gold wares. The umbrella-like canopy on the top is only four millimeters thick， and the window is one millimeter thick， with many ventilation holes. The horse tassels were made of bronze thread as thin as hair， whose diameter is only 0.1 millimeter. The horse necklaces were welded together with 42 nodes of gold and 42 nodes of silver. Archaeologists can see the welding joints only with a magnifier.The horses halters， made up of a gold tube and a sliver tube， were joined with snap fasteners. In the halters， there is a pin. When the pin was pulled out， the halters could be removed completely. According to preliminary research， the making of the bronze chariots and horses involves different techniques such as casting， welding， riveting， mounting， embedding， engraving and carving.
The bronze chariots and horses were the earliest and most exquisitely and intricately made bronze valuables. They enjoy the highest class and have the most complete harnessing wares. They are also the largest bronze wares discovered in the history of world archaeology. The excavation of the bronze chariots and horses provides extremely valuable material and data for the research of the metallurgical technique， the mechanism of chariots and technological modeling of the Qin Dynasty.