Terracotta Warriors Excavation Timeline: From 1974 – Now
The Terracotta Army in Xi’an was accidentally discovered by farmers digging a well in 1974. Two years later in 1976, official archaeological discovery started on site. With 3 major exhibitions open to pubic today, the mystery of the Terracotta Warriors unfolds through their fascinating excavation history. Terracotta Warriors Pit 1, Pit 2 and Pit 3 were opened to the public in 1979, 1989 and 1994 respectively. Since then, continuous excavations have been carried out, uncovering a large number of terracotta warriors and providing valuable insights into the Qin Dynasty.
1974 | Terracotta Warriors Pit 1 first discovered: 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 August, the State Council decided to build a museum above the Terracotta Army site to display and protect the pottery warriors and horses. |
1976 | Terracotta Warriors Pit 2 & Pit 3 were discovered. |
1977 – 1978 | Rare birds and animals pit discovered. |
1979 | The Terracotta Army Museum was opened to the public on October 1st. Only Pit 1 was discovered and exhibited at that time. |
1980 | Bronze chariots and horses discovered. |
1989 | Terracotta Warriors Pit 3 was officially opened to visitors. |
1994 | Terracotta Warriors Pit 2 was officially opened to visitors. |
1996 | Terracotta Warriors Pit 4 was discovered, only to find nothing in it. 1996 is also the year finding Pit K9801 buried with stone armor and helmets, which has a rectangular layout structure. |
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. |
2009 | The third excavation of pit 1 began. |
2011 | Three auxiliary museums were opened to the public. |
2015 to 2024 | The second official excavation of Terracotta army Pit 2 was carried out. |
Now | The excavation work continues. |