(Note: On March 29, 1974, in Xiyang Village, Lintong County, Shaanxi Province, some farmers accidentally found some pottery figurine fragments while digging a well to fight drought.) Soon, these pottery figurine fragments were identified by archaeologists as the funerary terracotta warriors of the Qin Emperor's Mausoleum. This is a set of scenes that reflect the archaeological site of the Terracotta Warriors shortly after their discovery, that is, the excavation of the Terracotta Warriors by archaeologists 30 years ago. Pictured: Archaeologists clean up terracotta fragments unearthed.
After the terracotta warriors were discovered, the archaeologists only conducted a trial excavation to probably figure out the layout of the pit. In April 1978, with the completion of the Hall of the No. 1 Pit Ruins, the excavation of the Terracotta Warriors officially began. Pictured: Archaeologists excavate terracotta warriors with rudimentary tools.
Pictured: Terracotta Warriors No. 1 pit excavation site. At that time, archaeologists divided Pit No. 1 into 27 exploration units according to 400 square meters, and then excavated each exploration party in turn.
Pictured: Archaeologists are excavating the site, and the tools are only agricultural tools such as shovels. According to archaeologists who participated in the terracotta army excavations, "everyone seems to have a sense of mission, believing that the terracotta warriors are the most important part of Chinese culture." Even if the excavation conditions are very simple, everyone is meticulous and careful, because it is a major discovery at any time. ”
Pictured: Archaeologists excavating terracotta warriors. Terracotta Warriors No. 1 pit is mainly divided into three stages, from 1978 to 1986, the main cleaning and excavation of the east side of the pit 5 probes, the total area of about 2000 square meters.
Pictured: Archaeologists are carefully excavating the Terracotta Warriors. The first phase of excavation of Pit No. 1 unearthed a total of 1,200 pieces of terracotta warriors and horses. When the newspaper published the complete picture of the Terracotta Warriors, the whole world was shocked.
Pictured: Archaeologists carefully clean up the dirt from the terracotta army's buns.
Pictured: Archaeologists using the Luoyang shovel to explore the scale of the Terracotta Warriors No. 2 and No. 3 pits. As can be seen from the photos, there was still a vacant lot on Pit No. 3 at that time.
Pictured: Lee Kuan Yew visits the Terracotta Warriors. In May 1976, Lee Kuan Yew, who was visiting China, was very excited when he heard the news that Lintong had discovered the life-size Terracotta Warriors of the Qin Dynasty, and immediately asked to visit. On May 14, Lee Kuan Yew came to the terracotta warriors excavation site, saw the newly unearthed terracotta warriors, and was very emotional, saying that it was "the Qin terracotta warriors are a miracle of the world and the pride of the Chinese nation." As a result, Lee Kuan Yew became the first foreign head of state to visit the Terracotta Warriors.