From: IBTimes.co.uk

More than 100 life-size terracotta warriors have added to the Terracotta Army of China’s Qin Dynasty as archaeologists announced on Monday about the new statues that have been excavated on the outskirts of Xi’an province in China.

The new terracotta warriors, about 110, were unearthed at an excavation site inside the No1 pit of the Museum of Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses, which is actually the mausoleum of Qin Dynasty’s Qin Shi Huang (221-210 BC), the first emperor of China.

All the terracotta warrior statues were found over a period of three years of excavation and are in well-preserved state and colourfully painted, according to archaeologists, who said that 11 more statues are yet to be excavated.



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The terracotta army was discovered in 1974 and opened to the public on China’s National Day in 1979. The museum is built over the site of the excavation itself and was inscribed as Unesco’s World Heritage List in 1987.

"The small figures are all different; with their horses, chariots and weapons, they are masterpieces of realism and also of great historical interest," Unesco mentions about the mausoleum, which is "one of the most fabulous archaeological reserves in the world."

The ancient archaeological site has three pits, considered as a treasure trove of Qin Dynasty’s military affairs, art and technology. According to the official Website of the mausoleum, over 8,000 life size terracotta sculptures of warriors and their horses and more that 10,000 bronze weapons have been excavated from the pits so far. Current estimates suggest that about 6,000 statues of warriors and horses are still buried in the first pit alone.

The mausoleum represents a unique funerary art where Qin Shi Huang lies buried in his tomb surrounded by his army, represented by terracotta warriors, buried along with him in a belief that they would protect their emperor in his life after death.

According to Unesco, the terracotta army of the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum must have represented the exact number of the imperial guards, and the newly excavated 110 statues are among the other thousands of terracotta warriors, which still remain to be unearthed.