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Thread: Terracotta Warriors of Xian

  1. #1
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    Terracotta Warriors of Xian

    I was hard pressed in deciding whether to post this here or here. There was a thread devoted to the Terracotta Warriors, but it got deleted by the initial poster and in deference to that, I'll keep it deleted.

    They are the Teddy Bear warriors! Terracotta army modelled after the popular toy become tourist attraction

    Over 500 hand made clay terracotta bears are on display in Wuxi, China
    The bears are part of a giant clay exhibition which ends mid June
    The warriors are life size and are joined by horses and chariots

    By SOPHIE WILLIAMS FOR MAILONLINE

    PUBLISHED: 10:09 EST, 17 May 2016 | UPDATED: 14:37 EST, 17 May 2016

    Over 500 hand made clay terracotta teddy bears have been put on display in eastern China.

    The bears are part of a new cultural exhibition in Wuxi, China's Jiangsu province, reports the People's Daily Online.

    The army is part of a wider exhibition where cultural icons are transformed into teddy bears.


    Copy teds! Over 500 clay bears mimicking the Terracotta Warriors are on display in eastern China


    Wow! The bears are life-sized according to military rank and are also joined by horses and chariots

    The bear army are dressed like thousands of original clay soldiers and are even life sized according to military rank.

    They are also joined by life sized horses and chariots.

    The artwork is part of a larger exhibition called Teddy Star Show with famous singers, politicians and actors turned into fluffy teddy bears.

    The exhibition space measures around 5,381 square feet and is run by the Korean Teddy Bear Association.

    The exhibition is held at Wuxi Plaza and will run through until mid June. Due to its popularity, it may tour the country.


    Cute army: The bear army are dressed like thousands of original clay soldiers and are even life sized


    A show to remember: The exhibition takes place at Wuxi Plaza in the city of Wuxi, eastern China


    The bears look a lot like the original Terracotta Warriors which are based in Xi'an, north west China

    The original terracotta army was first discovered by accident in 1974 by farmers in the Lintong District of Xi'an.

    Archaeologists have uncovered four distinct pits each around 23 feet deep – the largest of which contained 6,000 of the terracotta warriors.

    The second pit is thought to contain the cavalry and archers, although only 120 figures have been recovered so far.

    The third pit contained the tallest figures and are thought to be the generals and officers while the fourth pit appears to have been left empty.

    The army is thought to have been built to protect Emperor Qin Shihuang after his death and were positioned just under a mile east of his burial mound.

    The soldiers were laid out as if to protect the tomb from invaders to the east – the states where the Qin Emperor had conquered.

    Along with the figures themselves – which were so detailed that their armour bear rivets and their shoes have treads – there were numerous weapons found.

    Many of the swords and spears were found to be still sharp and a coating of chromium dioxide had managed to keep them rust free.


    Wonder: The original terracotta army was first discovered by accident in 1974 by farmers in Xi'an


    Amazing history: The soldiers were laid out as if to protect the tomb from invaders to the east

    THE TERRACOTTA WARRIORS
    The Terracotta Army is a form of funerary art buried with the First Emperor in 210 to 209 BC and whose purpose was to protect the emperor in his afterlife.

    Arguably the most famous archaeological site in the world, it was discovered by chance by villagers in 1974, and excavation has been on-going at the site since that date.

    An extraordinary feat of mass-production, each figure was given an individual personality although they were not intended to be portraits.

    The figures vary in height according to their roles, with the tallest being the generals.

    Current estimates are that there were over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which are still buried.

    Since 1998, figures of terracotta acrobats, bureaucrats, musicians and bronze birds have been discovered on site.

    They were designed to entertain the Emperor in his afterlife they are of crucial importance to our understanding of his attempts to control the world even in death.
    I just did a quick web news search and could find no updates on this film - nothing new since 2014.
    Gene Ching
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  2. #2
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    Terracotta Warriors of Xian

    I don't know how many times I've found news items on the Terracotta Warriors, and searched it only to find the two show threads (
    Rise of the Terracotta Warriors & Terracotta Warriors / Deng Feng Monks - there's another one Qin Shi Huang's Terracotta Kingdom but it was deleted). Time to launch a dedicated thread.

    Outrage in China After an American Man Stole a Finger From an Ancient Terra-cotta Warrior Statue


    Infantry men figures at Qin Museum, exhibition halls of Terracotta Warriors, Xian, China. Tim Graham—Getty Images
    By LAIGNEE BARRON Updated: February 20, 2018 4:31 AM ET

    After surviving more than 2,000 years in an underground crypt in central China, a life-seized terra-cotta warrior statue managed less than three months at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia before succumbing to bodily harm. A man snuck into the exhibit, took a selfie with the $4.5 million statue and then broke off and pocketed a thumb, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

    The suspect, identified by the FBI as 24-year-old Michael Rohana, was attending an “Ugly Sweater Party” at the museum on Dec. 21 when he beelined for the special exhibit housing the warrior, which was then closed.

    According to the affidavit filed by FBI Art Crime Team investigator Jacob B. Archer and cited by the Inquirer, the suspect left his fingerprints all over the artwork. Surveillance video also caught Rohana hanging around the exhibit, while his selfies pictured him with his arms draped around “The Cavalryman.”

    When agents showed up at Rohana’s home where he lives with his parents in Bear, Del. on Jan. 13, he quickly showed them to the thumb’s hiding place: his drawer.

    Rohana was charged last week with theft and concealment of an artwork, and interstate transportation of stolen property, according to the New York Times. He was released on bail.

    News of the theft has prompted outrage in China, which had loaned 10 statues from among the 8,000 life-size clay warriors that make up the Terracotta Army to the Philadelphia museum. The works came from one of China’s most important archaeological finds.
    View image on Twitter
    View image on Twitter

    The Franklin Institute

    @TheFranklin
    “Standing on platforms, the figures loom above visitors, staring straight ahead. Some of their visages are stern and others smiling.” - @LancasterOnline http://bit.ly/2FOxCLs #TerracottaWarriors is open now through March 4, 2018. Learn more: http://bit.ly/fi-tcw


    8:49 AM - Jan 18, 2018
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    An official at the Shaanxi Cultural Heritage Promotion Center, which loans the statues out, called for a harsh punishment, the Times reports.

    “We call on the American side to severely punish the person who committed this destruction and theft of mankind’s cultural heritage,” the official told a newspaper affiliated with the Communist Party.

    The Terracotta Army was built by the Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang in the third century BCE to protect him in the afterlife. The mausoleum was discovered by Chinese farmers in 1974, and the site and its clay trove were named to UNESCO’s World Heritage list in 1987.
    Gene Ching
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    More on Michael Rohana

    If you're going to steal something, don't take a selfie.

    There's a nice Nat Geo vid behind the link.

    What You Need to Know About the Terra-Cotta Warrior's Stolen Thumb

    The theft of an artifact that was part of an ancient royal mausoleum is causing international uproar.


    Excavated terracotta statues from Emperor Qin Shi Huang's tomb.
    PHOTOGRAPH BY O. LOUIS MAZZATENTA, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE
    A face took shape in one of several dozen molds. The sculptor then added details, choosing from an array of basic hairdos, ears, eyebrows, mustaches, and beards. The body was created separately and displayed a similar combination of standard elements. All together, the completed figures gave an impression of infinite variety, as in a real army.
    PHOTOGRAPH BY O. LOUIS MAZZATENTA

    By Elaina Zachos
    PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 20, 2018

    On December 21, Delaware resident Michael Rohana donned a green sweater and a Phillies hat to attend a pre-Christmas party at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

    Around 9:15 that evening, surveillance footage allegedly shows Rohana and some friends sneaking into a closed exhibition. The exhibit, on-loan from China since September 30, 2017, contains 10 of the famous terra-cotta warriors, along with coins, gold pieces, jade, and weapons from the excavation site. Shortly after entering the exhibit, Rohana's friends left, leaving the 24-year-old alone with the frozen warriors.

    In the footage, Rohana views the exhibit using the glow from his smartphone flashlight. He appears to embrace one of the soldiers—called Cavalryman—and take a selfie with it. Then, Rohana puts his hand into the left hand of the figure. He allegedly breaks something off and stashes the terra-cotta memento in his pocket. Thumb in tow, he leaves the scene.

    Museum staff didn't realize the statue was missing an appendage until January 8, and they traced the alleged vandalism back to Rohana five days later. Authorities quickly showed up at his house, where he lives with his parents, and Rohana reportedly admitted that he had kept the disembodied thumb in a desk drawer in his bedroom.

    THUMB THEFT
    On January 13, Rohana was arrested and charged with theft and concealment of a major artwork, as well as interstate transportation of stolen goods. After surrendering his passport, he was released on bail on February 16.

    The Shaanxi Cultural Heritage Promotion Center, who loaned the statues out to the Franklin Institute, "strongly condemned" the museum for being "careless." The center also said it was going to send two experts to assess the damage and repair the statue with the recovered thumb. There would be a claim for compensation, it added.

    Since the statues were discovered more than 40 years ago, the center has organized more than 260 overseas exhibits. But this is the first time a situation of this gravity has come to light.

    "We call on the American side to severely punish the person who committed this destruction and theft of mankind's cultural heritage," an official told the Communist Party-affiliated Beijing Youth Daily.

    The Franklin Institute said in a statement that its external security contractor did not follow standard closing protocol the night of the party, and the museum has reviewed its security measures and procedures to prevent future situations like this.

    A TERRA-COTTA PAST
    The Cavalryman statue is roughly 2,000 years old and was originally worth an estimated $4.5 million. It is part of a larger find of Emperor Qin's Tomb, a terra-cotta tribute to China's first emperor. Today, the UNESCO site is often referred to as one of China's most important archaeological finds. (See: "21 Photos of China's Best UNESCO World Heritage Sites")

    Chinese laborers came across strange terra-cotta fragments in 1974 when they were digging a well for an orchard outside the city of Xi'an. They then notified authorities, who returned to the site with government archaeologists. Over more than 40 years of excavation, they turned up part of a mausoleum for the country's first emperor—Qin Shi Huang Di, or First Emperor of Qin. (Watch: "China's Terra-Cotta Warriors")

    Taking the throne shortly after his 13th birthday, Qin ruled from 246 to 210 B.C. He is credited with unifying the country's warring kingdoms, ended feudalism, and built the first edition of the Great Wall of China. (Related: see the Great Wall from above and watch workers risk their lives to fix it.)

    Qin ordered for the mausoleum to be built shortly after he rose to power, and more than 700,000 laborers were put on the project. Construction lasted until 209 B.C., the year after Qin's death.

    There are four pits in the complex, and three of them are filled with 8,000 terra-cotta soldiers, though more may have existed some point. Each soldier, positioned according to rank, wears a different facial expression on its pink-pained face. Remnants of 2,000-year-old paint also show the warriors once had black hair and brown or black eyes, and were painted with shades of red, green, purple, and yellow to resemble brightly colored clothing.

    Weapons and wooden chariots drawn by life-size clay horses are also among the three pits of ruins. (Related: "Ears of Ancient Chinese Terra-Cotta Warriors Offer Clues to Their Creation")

    Qin's tomb is still unexcavated, but Chinese archaeologists are using remote sensing, ground-penetrating radar, and core sampling to probe the mound. They've found that the tomb complex is 38 square miles in total.

    Many others are buried at the site, including craftsmen, laborers, and criminals who died during construction. The skeletons of what are believed to be Qin's many sons and executed concubines are remains in the mass grave.

    Pit 1 was last excavated in 1985, but abruptly stopped after a worker stole a terra-cotta warrior's head. The perpetrator was subsequently executed.
    A head for a head. A thumb for a thumb?
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    mini-army

    Well this is cute. But having been to Xian myself, there's just no comparison.

    Mini Terracotta Army Unearthed in China
    A Han Dynasty-era pit includes 300 soldiers, guard towers, farm animals and everything else a noble might need in the afterlife


    (Chinese Cultural Relics)
    By Jason Daley
    SMITHSONIAN.COM
    2 HOURS AGO

    One of the greatest archaeological discoveries of all time is the Terracotta Warriors, a literal army of 7,000 life-size soldier and horse funerary statues buried in pits near the tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi, the first emperor of a unified China. While putting together such a massive burial truly took the resources of an emperor, the idea of being buried with an army must have sounded pretty cool to other blue bloods—as Owen Jarus at LiveScience reports, a miniature terracotta army was recently discovered in China, likely belonging to the tomb of a lesser royal.

    According to the report, recently translated into English in the journal Chinese Cultural Relics, the mini-warriors were found at Shanwing Village in the Linzi District of Zibo City, in Shandong Province. Construction in 2007 unearthed five Han-era tombs, including the pit, which is actually two vertical pits. In total, it contains 500 figurines, including horses, humans, weapons, musical instruments, wild and domesticated animals. It also has watchtowers, gates, buildings, granaries, stoves, and other architectural pieces populating the pit, including a theatrical pavilion.

    The approximately 300 figures of infantry soldiers, which stand about 11 inches tall, are laid out in a square formation, with the armored figures standing and crouching in a left or right-handed position. The 49 cavalry figurines, who wear helmets, body armor and pibo-shoulder armor, and are accompanied by horses and five vehicles, are as small as 5 inches. Meanwhile, the pottery watchtowers, which are depicted as two-story pavilions, stretch 55 inches in height. The scene is laid out to resemble the compound of a well-to-do noble or government official.

    So where did the figures come from? The researchers from the cultural relics agencies who examined them believe the clothing and armor styles on the figures date them to the Western Han Dynasty around 2,100 years ago. That means they were produced approximately 100 years after the full-size Terracotta Warriors. It’s likely they were constructed for a tomb that was either destroyed or covered over by urban development. According to the paper, aerial photos taken by the Japanese military in 1938 and local stories suggest there used to be two purported burial mounds in the vicinity of the pit that were flattened during the construction of a railway that may have been associated with the mini-warriors.

    Without excavating the associated burial, it’s difficult to say who the figures were created for, but the layout of the figures and the fact that they depict an army and high-class lifestyle suggests it was to commemorate a member of the royal family or other high-status person. One possibility is Liu Hong, a son of emperor Wu, who lived in the area during the right time period and died young.

    This is not the only pit full of figurines found from the time period. Similar mini-armies have been found accompanying the burials of emperors, senior government ministers and princes dating from the same era.

    The craftmanship is interesting in and of itself, but it also served a purpose. As the Victoria and Albert Museum details, during the centuries before the Terracotta Warriors were created, real servants were often buried with Chinese nobles. In one Shang-era (1600-1046 B.C.) grave, more than 350 human sacrifices were buried along with the ruler. By the Han era (206 B.C.-220 A.D.), however, those human sacrifices were replaced with figurines that represented attendants, servants, entertainers, guards and warriors that accompanied the noble into the afterlife, which is when this miniature terracotta army was made. Come 900 A.D., such figurines were starting to become mass produced, opening up the opportunity for more citizens of lower ranks and wealth to also be able to share their final resting places with the company of a few terracotta servants.
    Gene Ching
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    Dude checks into a Terracotta Warrior-themed hotel room in Xi'an...

    ...gets freaked the hell out

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    There goes one of my favorite myths.

    The pix are embedded in a way that they can't be copied. It's Nat Geo - I respect that.


    The terracotta army was created to serve China's first emperor in the afterlife.

    PHOTOGRAPH BY IRA BLOCK, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION
    CULTURE & HISTORY
    Ancient advanced weapon technology theory debunked by new research
    For four decades, researchers believed the 2,200-year-old bronze weapons of the Terracotta Warriors were amazingly preserved because they were chrome plated. Not so, according to new research.
    3 MINUTE READ
    BY JEN PINKOWSKI
    PUBLISHED APRIL 4, 2019

    If your bathroom faucets look like shiny silver, they’re likely chrome plated. Experiments with this anti-rust technology began in Europe in the 19th century. Yet for 40 years, an alternate theory has circulated in scholarly circles and the popular media: Chrome plating was invented in the third century B.C in China and used to prevent the bronze weapons buried with the Terracotta Army in Emperor Qin’s tomb from corroding. The claim is even on a plaque at the site’s museum in Xi’an.

    This theory dates to the 1970s, the decade when the World Heritage site was first discovered. After early excavation reports suggested a surface treatment could explain the exquisite preservation of the 2,200-year-old bronze weapons, Chinese scientists used a then-pioneering analysis called compositional mapping to reveal a layer of chromium on a small sample of the weapons. The researchers suggested the weapons could’ve been dipped in a chromium oxide solution, a method known as chromate conversion coating—a technique technically different from modern chrome plating, which involves chromium metal.

    A picture of bronze arrows half covered in dirt
    Researchers believed that chromium protected the bronze weapons from decaying over more than 2,000 years.
    PHOTOGRAPH BY O. LOUIS MAZZATENTA, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

    Either technique would’ve been revolutionary more than two millennia ago during the Qin dynasty. But it turns out neither was used on the weapons, according to a paper published today in the journal Scientific Reports.

    The researchers, from University College London and the Emperor Qin Shihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum, studied 464 bronze arrowheads and tangs, ferrules, sword blades and fittings, and bow triggers using SEM-EDS, a high-powered microscope that reveals the surface and structure of a metal, and portable X-ray fluorescence, which reveals chemical composition.

    CHINA'S TERRACOTTA WARRIORS

    The large sample size allowed them to see where chromium appears—and where it doesn't.

    It’s common where the metal would’ve connected to wood and bamboo handles, shafts, fittings, and fasteners, which would’ve been lacquered and then painted. It was generally absent on the best-preserved parts of the bronzes. Further analysis revealed that the lacquer was actually the source of the chromium detected by earlier researchers.

    A study of the site soil yielded more clues: It’s alkaline and finely grained, which limit aeration and organic growth—all factors that can contribute to the stability of metal objects over time.

    The upshot? The chromium came from the lacquer, and the preservation came from the dirt.

    W. Thomas Chase, a conservation expert in Chinese bronze technology, says that “[the] team has done a wonderful job in disproving the chromium-plating theory and an offering a viable alternate explanation.” The study’s analyses of multiple materials—metal, lacquer, and soil—he adds, “are exactly what is necessary to help us understand long-term corrosion and preservation of metal artifacts."

    Robert Murowchick, associate director of Boston University’s Center for the Study of Asia, says that the original chromium idea was a reasonable theory for people to have embraced for so long. “It was not a wild idea to suggest that Qin workshops intentionally treated their bronzes with chromium to prevent corrosion.”

    “It would have been an attractive explanation to both scholars and the public,” Murowchick observes, “as it suggested a nice parallel to the stories passed down by early Chinese historians about the First Emperor of Qin's fascination—perhaps obsession—with discovering an elixir of immortality for himself.”

    Lead study author Marcos Martinon-Torres, now at Cambridge University, admits he was surprised by the findings, calling the 1970s research “remarkably convincing. They did experimental replications. They ruled out other hypotheses. I was certainly inclined to believe they were right.”
    Gene Ching
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    Mistrial?

    He admits guilt and it's a mistrial? wth?

    China fury at Terracotta Warrior thumb case mistrial
    By Kerry Allen
    BBC Monitoring
    11 April 2019

    TRIPADVISOR
    Museum staff noticed the missing thumb in January

    Chinese social media users are voicing their outrage after the prosecution of an American who stole a thumb from a Chinese Terracotta Warrior ended in a mistrial.

    Michael Rohana, 24, admitted taking a thumb from a statue in Pennsylvania in December 2017.

    It was during a visiting exhibition at the Franklin Institute museum

    His lawyer argued that Mr Rohana was wrongly charged under laws normally applicable to major museum thefts.

    This, he insisted, was "youthful vandalism".

    The trial ended on Tuesday with a 7-5 jury split in favour of an acquittal.

    The Terracotta Army - discovered in the 1970s by a group of Chinese farmers - is one of China's most important archaeological finds.

    The 2,000-year-old statue that lost its thumb is worth an estimated $4.5m (£3.2m) and was one of 10 on loan during the September 2017-March 2018 exhibition.

    What happened?

    In December 2017, Mr Rohana was attending an Ugly Sweater Party at the Franklin Institute when he made his way into the Terracotta Warriors exhibit, which was then closed.

    Surveillance footage captured him "clowning around" with the statues and taking selfies, before appearing to break something from one before leaving.

    Museum staff noticed the missing thumb in January and contacted the FBI. They later traced the thumb to Mr Rohana, who admitted that he had kept the thumb in a desk drawer.

    He was charged with two federal crimes: the theft and concealment of an item of cultural heritage.

    The trial

    During the five-day trial at the Federal Courthouse in Philadelphia that ended on 9 April, Mr Rohana told the court that he had made a mistake.

    "Every time I see this video now, I'm trying to figure out: 'What was going through your mind? What were you thinking?'" he said.

    "I don't know why I broke it. It didn't just happen, but there was never a thought of: 'I should break this.'"

    His lawyers argued that the charges brought against him were too severe, with lawyer Catherine Henry telling the court: "These charges were made for art thieves — think like Ocean's Eleven or Mission: Impossible.

    She says Mr Rohana "wasn't in ninja clothing sneaking around the museum. He was a drunk kid in a bright green ugly Christmas sweater".

    Jury members were unable to reach a verdict on either charge.

    Prosecutors will decide by 15 May whether or not to seek a retrial.

    How has China responded?

    The Chinese authorities had called for Mr Rohana to receive "severe punishment".

    Representatives from the Shaanxi Provincial Cultural Relics exchange centre said that in more than 260 cultural exhibitions spanning four decades, it had never seen such a "vicious incident".

    It said that it would be holding the relevant US departments accountable.

    Chen Lusheng, formerly of China's National Museum, added that it was "emotionally difficult to accept such a verdict", and that China would be investigating the responsibility of the Franklin Institute under its joint exhibition agreement.

    Since learning of the mistrial, thousands of people in China have been voicing their outrage on the popular Sina Weibo microblog.

    "Since he's not guilty, can I also take the Statue of Liberty's torch?" one user says.

    Another says: "Are those seven jurors idiots?" One user calls it an "international joke".

    "This American dog doesn't care at all, or understand Chinese cultural relics," another adds.

    Another says: "So this is what so-called democracy looks like?"

    What other cases have there been of historic artefacts being vandalised?

    In 2009, the infamous Arbeit Macht Frei sign at Auschwitz was stolen from the death camp by three men who were later sentenced to prison terms. The sign was recovered several days after it was stolen, but it had been cut into three pieces

    The world heritage site of Easter Island was subject to vandalism in 2008 when a Finnish tourist damaged a famous statue by clipping off an ear. The uproar led the mayor of Easter Island to say on public radio that he wished the tourist would get his ear clipped off too

    A Chinese teenager vandalised an Ancient Egyptian artwork at the Luxor temple in 2013 by writing "Ding Jinhao was here" in graffiti.
    Gene Ching
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    200 more

    Archaeologists uncovered more than 200 more Terracotta Warriors this decade
    Qin Shi Huang's army is still growing more than 2,000 years after his death
    by Alex Linder January 1, 2020 in News



    The afterlife army of China’s first emperor has had its ranks swelled with Chinese archaeologists unearthing hundreds more terracotta warriors over the course of this decade from the famed Mausoleum of Emperor Qinshihuang outside of Xi’an.

    First uncovered by a farmer in 1976, the massive burial complex, which was constructed over 36 years from 246 to 208 BC, has been slowly and painstakingly excavated over the last few decades. The site’s museum announced this week that over the third round of excavations (2009-2019) on the mausoleum’s Pit 1 (the largest of the excavation sites), more than 220 terracotta warriors were unearthed.

    In addition, archeologists have found numerous other artifacts including pottery, terracotta horses, and a golden camel. Check out some of the finds below:


    [Images via ChinaNews]
    Having been to this site and seen how weird the surrounding hills are, I'm willing to bet there are even more still buried.
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    More on Rohana

    Man pleads guilty to breaking off thumb of terracotta warrior worth $4.5 million


    Bryan Ke
    Tue, April 18, 2023 at 9:57 AM PDT·3 min read
    The Delaware man who broke the thumb off a priceless terracotta warrior statue lent to the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia by China in December 2017 has pleaded guilty to a federal misdemeanor charge.

    Michael Rohana, 29, of Bear, Delaware, pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in archaeological resources in a Pennsylvania court on Monday. The misdemeanor charge could earn Rohana one year in jail when he’s sentenced on Aug. 17.

    Rohana’s Monday charge was reportedly closer to what his attorney had previously argued for and carried much fewer penalties than his initial charge.

    Rohana was first charged with the theft and concealment of an object of cultural heritage from a museum and interstate transportation of stolen property, which carried a total maximum penalty of 30 years in prison when he was arrested in 2018.

    Prosecutors then charged Rohana under the federal art theft statute at his trial the following year. An individual can be charged under the law if the item stolen meets the threshold of being either at least 100 years old and worth more than $5,000 or worth at least $100,000.

    Under this law, Rohana could have faced a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and a fine.

    His attorneys, public defenders Catherine C. Henry and Nancy MacEoin, argued that the statute is only applicable for art thieves, as Rohana’s case was the first time the law was applied to a person whose motive was to vandalize, not for financial gain.

    “These charges were made for art thieves — think like ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ or ‘Mission: Impossible,’” Henry said during her closing argument in the 2019 trial, adding that the man “wasn’t in ninja clothing sneaking around the museum. He was a drunk kid in a bright green ugly Christmas sweater.”

    Another factor that lessened Rohana’s sentence was the actual value of the terracotta warrior’s thumb.

    Jurors were left confused after art appraisers disagreed over the thumb’s value, as the prosecution argued the thumb was worth more than $150,000.

    Meanwhile, the defense said it should be lower than the federal art theft law threshold, explaining that the terracotta warrior statue, known as The Cavalryman, was initially found in pieces and assembled by archeologists for display, making the recent damage insignificant.

    As part of the plea deal with prosecutors, Rohana’s defense team and the prosecutors agreed to set the value of the finger at $500.

    Rohana was caught in the act by a security camera at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia while attending an “ugly sweater party” in December 2017.

    Investigators learned through the footage that Rohana, who was 24 at that time, sneaked inside a closed-off section of the museum during a drunken excursion. The security camera caught him taking selfies with the terracotta warrior statue worth around $4.5 million.

    The drunken trip ended with Rohana breaking the thumb off the ancient statue, believed to be around 2,000 years old, and taking it back to his parents’ home, where he still lives.

    The incident ignited outrage in China, with Chinese officials demanding the man face “severe punishment” for the crime.

    The incident also prompted the City Council of Philadelphia to apologize for what happened.

    The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia was one of the only two museums in the U.S. that China chose to host the traveling exhibit for the terracotta warriors statue found in the tomb of China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, in Xi’an, Shaanxi province, in 1974. The other exhibit in 2017 was at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond.
    terracotta-thumb-diplomacy fail
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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