The similarities between the sculptures which comprise China’s famous Terracotta Army and ancient Greek statues have led some archaeologists to believe that they were created under the guidance of an ancient Greek sculptor, according to greekreporter.com.
Xi’an’s Terracotta Army was found by farmers in 1974, who accidentally dug up pieces of the sculptures in their fields. The “army” consists of 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses, and 150 cavalry horses, buried less than a mile from the tomb of China’s First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang, who unified the country in 221 BC.
It is believed that the massive terra-cotta army was created and placed there to guard the Emperor in the afterlife.
Work on the 13-year-old Emperor Qin’s mausoleum actually commenced in 246 BC, as soon as the boy ascended the throne. The colossal project involved 700,000 workers.
The life-size, realistic statues, which all have unique, distinctive features, led researchers to believe that ancient Greeks were somehow involved in the creation of the statues. Greeks are known to have been the first people in the planet to make realistic statues to match the shape, characteristics, and size of the human form.
Before the Terracotta Army, depictions of humans in China are thought to have been figurines which measured only up to almost 20cm (8 inches).
Professor Lukas Nickel, the Head of the Department of Asian Art History at the University of Vienna, said he believes that it was ancient Greeks who contributed to the making of the Terracotta Army.
“I imagine that a Greek sculptor may have been at the site to train the locals,” he explained to the news website telegraph.co.uk.
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