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The discovery could rewrite the history of China

Constructed in the third century BC, the Terracotta Army is a collection of clay sculptures depicting the forces of the First Emperor of China – Qin Shi Huang. Discovered in 1974 by local farmers in Lintong County, Shaanxi, the figures include more than 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses built as protection for the Emperor in the afterlife. Their varying clothes, facial features and body types have long stunned archaeologists, considering they were created more than 2,000 years ago.


But historian Dan Snow revealed during his BBC series “The Greatest Tomb on Earth” why a new theory could “force us to rewrite history”. He said in 2016: “The stunning realism amplifies the great mystery surrounding these figures, where do they come from? “They are nothing like any figure made in China before them, something changed. “The big question is how did Chinese craftsmen achieve such an incredible transformation?

The Terracotta Army come in all shapes and sizes


“It’s like going from a stickman to a Leonardo in a single step, something remarkable happened here 2,200 years ago. “To understand quite how remarkable, I need to put it in a global context.” Mr Snow explained to viewers how historians have long-believed Ancient China remained secluded from the rest of the world. But the Terracotta Army could shatter that theory. He added: “The world at the time of the First Emperor, around 220BC. READ MORE: Archaeologists solve 370-year-old mystery with 'significant' Durham discovery

Dan Snow spotted an enigma

Researchers have made links to Greecea

More work is needed to understand Ancient China

Mr Snow revealed how something happened that completely changed the Chinese approach to art. He continued: “Then something changes, in fact, everything changes – there’s a revolution. “Suddenly, in 220BC you get the Terracotta Warriors lightyears ahead of what’s gone before. “It starts to look far less like its predecessor and far more like what’s going on in the western world, both life-size, both lifelike, both attempts at realism. “This couldn’t be more important, because it’s always been assumed that China developed in isolation.