We have been just knocking off things from my bucket list this week!
If Archaeologists had a crown.. and if there was a jewel in it – The area around Xian would be it! Not only does it have the Terracotta Soldiers and all of the treasures hidden away that come with it, but they also have a fair number of Ming Dynasty tombs which are in the area as well…
BUT on to the bucket list item:
We went and saw the Terracotta Soldiers.. they were pretty awesome. I know people have complained that you just walk around an open dig site, look at some glued together pottery, and then leave.. and fundamentally they are right – EXCEPT THAT IT'S EPIC POTTERY!
The figures are hallow and were fired during a time when 2 or 3 out of 10
were likely to make it through the firing due to imperfections in the clay or,
more commonly, the inability to perfectly control the temperature of the fire for as
long as it would take for a large piece to bake. I would image the potters would
be dreaming of men in their sleep!
The horses and carriages were also nicely done, although only the miniature carriages (meant to be used in the afterlife) survived since the full size ones were made of wood... and you can see the open dig site with the archaeologists still working slowly on piecing together everything… I'd admit, you probably wouldn't want to spend more than a day there.. but it warrants at least a few hours!
Crazy YAY! :)
Loved it all!
~Miranda
If Archaeologists had a crown.. and if there was a jewel in it – The area around Xian would be it! Not only does it have the Terracotta Soldiers and all of the treasures hidden away that come with it, but they also have a fair number of Ming Dynasty tombs which are in the area as well…
Xian is an old walled city, in fact it is one of the best preserved walls in the world!
It is anywhere from 12 - 16 meters thick and runs almost 30 km around the old city.. AND they light it up during the evenings.... I thought it was quite pretty :)
It is anywhere from 12 - 16 meters thick and runs almost 30 km around the old city.. AND they light it up during the evenings.... I thought it was quite pretty :)
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| Lit Guard Tower (along the wall) |
BUT on to the bucket list item:
We went and saw the Terracotta Soldiers.. they were pretty awesome. I know people have complained that you just walk around an open dig site, look at some glued together pottery, and then leave.. and fundamentally they are right – EXCEPT THAT IT'S EPIC POTTERY!
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| Building with the main discovery of the infantry/foot soldiers |
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| Soldiers who are being pieced back together (Tough Work! It'd be like a reeeally hard jigsaw puzzle, everything is the same, yet a little different!) |
The soldiers each have their own face, and they aren't a little different..
there are men who stand frozen in time with a thought still passing through
their features… some look a little bored, other really cranky.. younger, older,
bigger (height or weight) and smaller.. even their clothing creases are different!
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| Some of the detail.... |
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| The hats help distinguish the soldier's rank and position.. notice these two are different The left soldier is a foot soldier, while the other is cavalry |
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| Just a few in a row |
The horses and carriages were also nicely done, although only the miniature carriages (meant to be used in the afterlife) survived since the full size ones were made of wood... and you can see the open dig site with the archaeologists still working slowly on piecing together everything… I'd admit, you probably wouldn't want to spend more than a day there.. but it warrants at least a few hours!
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| neigh.. |
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| One of the complete mini (about half size) horses and carriages |
Loved it all!
~Miranda
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