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Primary sourcePhotographMay 2004

Terracotta Warrior Still Embedded in the Earth at Xi'an

Richard Chambers · May 2004

A photograph from 2004 showing a terracotta warrior from Qin Shi Huang's tomb army partly buried and surrounded by broken fragments.

Shows the excavation state of a figure from the tomb army built for Qin Shi Huang.

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A terracotta warrior figure partly embedded in packed earth, with its head, torso, and armor visible. Broken fragments of pottery and clay lie scattered around it, including a helmet-like piece and a large curved shard at the bottom.
Terracotta warrior still embedded in the earth, Xi'an. Photograph by Richard Chambers, May 2004.

About this source

What it is

This photograph, taken in May 2004 near Xi'an, shows a terracotta warrior figure still partly embedded in the earth, surrounded by fragments of other broken figures. These statues were created as part of the army buried to protect Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, in his tomb.

Why it matters

Unlike polished museum displays, this image captures the real condition of the figures as archaeologists find them during excavation. It shows how fragile and fragmented the statues can be after being buried for over two thousand years, and reminds students that what we see in museums has often been carefully restored.

Look closer

  • What does the broken, buried state of this figure tell you about the challenges of archaeology?
  • Why might museums choose to display restored figures rather than ones in this condition?
  • What does this image not show about how the statue looked when first made?

This photograph is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Emperor Qin Shi Huang on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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