terracotta

(Newser) - Marco Polo's travels to China in the 13th century are the first well documented record of a European reaching the empire. But archaeologists studying a famous trove of terracotta figures dug up in China now suggest that the first contact with the West occurred much earlier than thought—some...

(Newser) - A new excavation of something branded the "No. 2 pit" is a potentially much more remarkable undertaking than it sounds: It could swell the ranks of China's famed terracotta army. Work began March 30 on the pit, which sits adjacent to the tomb mound of Qin Shi Huang,...

(Newser) - A massive army of terracotta warriors, commissioned by China's first emperor in 246 BC, has mesmerized archaeologists since its discovery in 1974. Slowly, researchers have learned the secrets of the amazing clay statues, including how they were painted , but were still puzzled by how their realistic features were created....

(Newser) - British papers have been absorbed with stories of Chinese hackers, but another set of Chinese warriors has invaded London: the millennia-old terracotta statues that guard the tomb of Qin Shihuangdi. The Telegraph is presenting a preview of the British Museum's The First Emperor, an exhibition years in the making that...