Color-painted Terracotta Warrior

The Pit No.2 in Xian Qin Terra Cotta Warriors Museum is located 22 yards to the northeast of Terra Cotta Pit No.1. Covering an area of 7,176 square yards, Pit 2 is L-shaped, measuring 136 yards from east to west, 107 yards from north to south, and sixteen feet deep.

Pit No.2 is the most spectacular of the three pits. Compared to Pit No.1, the combat formations in Pit No.2 are more complex, and the units of armed forces are more complete. According to preliminary calculations, there are over 80 war chariots, about 1,300 terra cotta warriors and horses, and thousands of bronze weapons. It is a revelation to first discover the terra cotta general, the kneeling archer and the warrior with saddle horse in the pit. There are two slopping entrances on the northern side, and four on both ends of the eastern and western sides.

 The pit can be divided into four sections.

Section 1: Lying in the eastern corner of the pit, this section has a square shape. There are four corridors around the four sides where 60 crossbowmen are in standing posture. In the center of the square, there are four east-west passageways where 160 crossbowmen are aligned in squatting position.

Section 2: Lying in the right of the pit, section 2 measures 57 yards from east to west and 52 yards from north to south. Sixty-four war chariots make up a combat formation, which is divided into eight rows. Each of the chariots is pulled by four life-sized terra-cotta horses. Three warriors are side by side behind the chariot, with the middle one driving the carriage and the others standing on either side.

Section 3: In the center of the pit, is a rectangular combat formation made up of 264 foot soldiers and eight cavalrymen, as well as 19 war chariots. There are three clusters. One cavalryman stands in front of a horse with one hand drawing a bow and the other hand holding the rein. Additionally, there are between eight and thirty-six foot soldiers standing in each chariot.

Section 4: In the left of the pit, there are three east-west passageways where all the cavalrymen are aligned. The section measures 55 yards from east to west and 25 yards from north to south. The four sections make up an impregnable fortress. Next to the pit, there is a large exhibition hall which has the most complete range of functions and is where visitors can directly witness the excavation work in Pit 2.

The bronze swords unearthed in Pit 2 measure 86cm (34 inches) long and are carved with eight symmetrical facets. Buried for over 2,000 years, they are still very sharp and smooth. What's more surprising is that the pliability of these bronze swords is extraordinarily good. One of the swords was found bent with a 331 pound terracotta warrior on top of it. When the heavy warrior figure was removed, the sword slowly returned to its original shape.

The swords were analyzed by scientists using modern methods. They concluded that the surfaces of these Qin swords were coated with an oxide film 10 microns thick which contained 2% chrome. This is especially noteworthy since the chrome oxidation technology wasn't actually mastered until recent times and requires both complex equipment and processes. How did the Qin people do it more than 2,000 years ago? It's a pity that their secret recipe was not been passed down to today. We can only marvel at the extraordinary casting technique and artistic standards during that period, and at the same time do our best to unveil the mystery.

Green-faced Terracotta Warrior

Kneeling Terracotta Soldier

Color-painted Terracotta Soldier

 Pictures of Terracotta Warriors Pit 2

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