Chronicle of Terracotta Army
| Chronicle/ Timeline of Terracotta Army | |
|---|---|
| Time | Events |
| 247 BC or 246 BC - 208 BC | Terracotta Army was constructed by the side of Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s Mausoleum to protect him in his after life, taking nearly 40 years. |
| Around 206 BC | The Terracotta Warriors and Horses suffered natural flood disaster and man-made destructions by Xiangyu, the overlord of Western Chu (232 BC - 202 BC) and his army. |
| 1974 | In March, the Terracotta Army was first discovered by local villagers when digging a well. It is located to the east of Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum mound. That’s the Pit 1. |
| 1975 | In June, the fishpond site was discovered for the first time. |
| In August, the State Council decided to construct a museum right above the original site of terracotta army to have the pottery warriors and horses on display and protected. | |
| 1976 | In May, the Pit 2 was found to the east of Qin Shi Huang’s mausoleum mound. |
| In June, the Pit 3 was found to the east side of the mausoleum mound as well. | |
| In October, the sites of Stable Pits and subordinate tombs were found. | |
| 1977 - 1978 | To the west of the mausoleum mound, rare birds and animals pit was discovered between July of 1977 and March of 1978. |
| 1979 | The Terracotta Army Museum was opened to the public on October 1st. Only Pit 1 was discovered and exhibited at that time. ? |
| The builder's graveyard was discovered in December of the year. | |
| 1980 | In November, pottery kiln used to fire the terracotta warriors and horses was found to the west of the mausoleum mound. |
| The archaeologists discovered and excavated the bronze chariots and horses in December. | |
| 1981 | In November, the office site used to operating the mausoleum was found. |
| 1982 | The first overseas exhibition of Terracotta Army was hold in Paris, France in March. |
| 1981 - 1982 | It was probed that there is a large amount of hydrargyrum contained inside the mound of Qinshihuang's mausoleum. |
| 1987 | On December 11th, the Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s Mausoleum, including Terracotta Army was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. |
| 1989 | On September 27th, the Pit 3 was officially opened to visitors. |
| 1994 | The Pit 2 was officially opened to visitors on October 1st. |
| 1996 | Pit 4 was discovered, only to find nothing in it except backfilled soil. |
| In April, the animal accessory pit was found to the north of the mausoleum mound. | |
| 1996 is also the year finding Pit K9801 buried with stone armor and helmets, which has a rectangular layout structure. | |
| The excavation workers found another builder's graveyard of Qinshihuang's mausoleum in November. | |
| 1998 | In order to protect and study the Terracotta Army more scientifically, a professional archaeological team was organized in November to conduct high-efficiency archaeological research. |
| 1999 | Pit K9901 buried with acrobatics figures and some bronze wares were observed. |
| The Exhibition Hall of Historical Relics of Emperor Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum was completed and opened on October 1st. | |
| 2000 | The archaeological workers found the well-preserved Pit K0006, buried with civil official figures. |
| 2001 | To the north of the mausoleum mound of the first emperor, the distinctive Pit K0007 was found in August, buried with bronze aquatic birds. |
| 2009 | The establishment of Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum was proclaimed, including Terracotta Army Museum and Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum Site (Lishan Garden in history). |
| 2010 | The Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum was opened. It is one of China’s first national archaeological parks. |
| 2011 | Accessory Pit K0006 and Pit K9901 were opened to the visitors on 30th September. |
| 2011 - today | The excavation work continues and more and more terracotta warriors and horses have been found. Also, the technologies to protect them developed a lot. |
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- Last updated on Aug. 04, 2025 by Alex Jin -