What are the terracotta soldiers made of?

Dr. dig responds:
The terracotta soldiers of the Emperor Qin are made of baked clay. The two words, ' terra' and 'cotta' come from the Latin language. Terra in Latin means earth, and is the same word that gives us the words 'terrain' and 'terrestrial' (of the earth). Cotta means cooked in Latin, but there are few other English words besides terracotta that use from this Latin root.

The armor of some of the terracotta soldiers of the Emperor Qin was made out of leather. Warriors wore armor made from leather plated that were riveted together. Other soldiers, such as the archers, don't seem to be wearing leather armor, but looser fitting tunics instead which allowed greater movement.

Remains of flecks of paint show archaeologists that the tunics made from cloth and the leather were brightly colored. Paint in shades of reds, blues, greens, purples, yellows and browns was used to decorated these terracotta warriors. The uniforms worn by real soldiers would have been similarly colorful. Camouflage is a relatively modern invention, and uniforms worn by ancient armies were much more showy and bright.

Tell me about Emperor Qin and the terracota warriors.

Dr. dig responds:
There is a wonderful article in the December/January 1999/2000 issue of dig all about the Emperor Qin and his terracotta army that was buried with him in his tomb. Also, here is a link to a page with some of the basic information: Terra Cotta Warriors of the Qin Dynasty.

For a list of great books on the Emperor Qin's Terracotta army, log on to: www.geocities.com/Athens/Academy/7547/amazon.html

What methods were used in the discovery of the Terra Cotta Warriors?

Dr. dig responds:
The terracotta soldiers were accidentally discovered when a group of local farmers was digging a well during a drought. One of the shovels pulled up the head of a clay warrior. When more clay warriors were discovered, the farmers decided to call in the experts! The warriors were excavated by teams of Chinese archaeologists and are being studied by scholars of Chinese art and history all over the world.

Do the tombs contain dangerous traps or obstacles?

Dr. dig responds:
One of the world's archaeological wonders is the amazing army of 7,000 lifesize terracotta soldiers made more than 2,000 years ago as part of the burial complex of China's first emperor, Qin Shihuangdi (Chin Shee-wand-dee). The were probably made to guard his tomb and escort him into the afterlife.

The tomb of Emperor Qin itself has not been excavated. It is expected to contain all the possessions the emperor wanted to have in his afterlife, including splendid jewels, paintings, and models of palaces and other beautiful ornaments and treasures.

The tomb has never been opened, and some believe that it has probably been looted long ago. Although Chinese archaeologists are anxious to open his tomb, there is a chance they may find an empty pit. But if they do find treasures, they will be faced with an enormous job of conservation because there will be many fragile silks and other materials that will probably disintegrate when exposed to air.

Then of course, there are booby traps to worry about. Booby traps? Ancient descriptions of the tomb warn us about crossbows that are mechanically trigered at the tomb's entrance "so than any thief breaking in would be shot."

Sounds like this excavation is a job for Indiana Jones!