The Terracotta Army: The Discovery with Dan Snow

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Deep in the heart of China lies one of the greatest archaeological treasures ever discovered. For over 2,000 years it was lost underground, until 1974, when a group of farmers found it by chance. It is known today as the Terracotta Army - thousands of life-sized sculpted soldiers, ready for action in the afterlife. Dan Snow travels to China to examine some of the artefacts

Review

Jane Rackham

The sight of ranks upon ranks of life-sized terracotta Chinese warriors — some 2,000 of them — standing to attention has been stunning people since they were accidentally found in 1974.

In this documentary from 2024, Dan Snow takes us through the excavation, explores the history of the brutal emperor who they were to guard in the afterlife and has the chance to examine the detailed figures in close-up.

Even more interesting are subsequent discoveries: nearby, a hill turns out to be a man-made burial mound, while metres away there are mass graves of enslaved people and the bones of high-status young women suggesting that the emperor’s concubines were forced to follow him in death.

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rolenamePresenterDan SnowExecutive producerBill LockeDirectorMark Edger

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