Written By: Emma Donaldson
The Terracotta Warriors are one of the best-known, and most popular, archaeological discoveries of the twentieth century. Unearthed by accident in 1974, these warriors rose to international fame due to their remarkably well-preserved state and the extraordinary craftsmanship required for their original construction. Their renown continued to grow as more warriors and horses were discovered, leading the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to add the site on the World Heritage List, hailing it as the ‘the eighth wonder of the world’.
The Terracotta Warriors were commissioned by Qin Shihuang, the first Emperor of a unified China. In 221 BC, he conquered the warring states and established what came to be known as the ‘centralised state’ – a new, unified administrative system. Prior to his reign, rulers in various Chinese states practised human sacrifice, burying servants and family members alive to accompany them in death. In 384 BC, this practice was abolished and, instead, replaced with ceramic martyrdom, a similar principle but with ceramic substitution rather than the people themselves. This practice reached its peak with the construction of Qin Shihuang’s mausoleum, which was filled with thousands of life-sized terracotta figures, which are now internationally known as the ‘Terracotta Warriors’.
This archaeological discovery not only launched international intrigue into their history, but also brought the question of their preservation to the forefront. When the site was first uncovered in 1974, the necessary technology and resources to fully excavate and conserve the figures were not yet available, leading to a pause in excavation. It was not until the third attempt at excavating the warriors that the resources and expertise were in place to safely remove the warriors from the ground and begin the conservation process. Each figure is unique and requires specialised techniques and materials to ensure its preservation. This article will only focus on the conservation of a single figure: a standing charioteer, so named because it was found during excavations in 2010 near a chariot that had been broken into thirty-seven pieces.
Although broken into thirty-seven pieces, the standing charioteer was a particularly important figure to conserve because many of its fragments retained high-quality traces of original colour. These pigments were of special interest, as not all warriors exhibited such well-preserved colouring — and many retained no visible colour at all. Keeping the colour on these fragments safe was crucial because the consolidation of these layers offer valuable insights into the materials and techniques used by artisans when finishing the production of these warriors over two thousand years ago. Though painstaking, the process of conservation for this warrior is crucial and needs to be followed in order to prevent further degradation of the clay from either modern-day chemicals or adverse reactions to fluctuations in humidity and air composition.
To begin, the conservators working on this warrior used a calligraphy brush to coat the painted areas on the arms, legs, head, and lower body fragments with deionised water. This helped prevent the pigments from flaking off the lacquer substrate. For the chest and back fragments, they used a technique known as impregnation, to moisten the material and then covered it with degreased cotton wool, soaked in a chemical solution prepared with deionised water. Following this process, residual soil was removed from the fragments in situ to prevent the moisture-induced damage, such as mould growth. Once cleaned, the fragments were wrapped in plastic film and transferred to a laboratory for controlled humidification. This meticulous process is essential to the conservation of both the Terracotta Warriors and other excavated materials. It helps preserve each object as close to its original condition as possible and allows researchers to investigate and understand the product better – ultimately allowing the public to gain deeper insights into the history behind extraordinary finds like these warriors.
Although an exciting discovery, the conservation of the Terracotta Warriors could not begin immediately. Several critical considerations had to be addressed before treatment could proceed, including:
- Stability – would treatment compromise the long-term structural integrity of the material?
- Material compatibility – would the original clay respond negatively to the chemicals and adhesives used in conservation?
- Authenticity and re-treatability – could any intervention be reversed if necessary?
This final point is arguably one of the most important when looking at conserving excavated material. Reversibility is essential: if, in the future, new evidence emerges about an object’s historical context or original appearance, conservators must be able to correct previous reconstructions. A well-known example is the Sutton Hoo helmet, which was initially assembled incorrectly and later reinterpreted as new information came to light. Ensuring that modern interventions are reversible allows future conservators to adapt to evolving knowledge without permanently compromising the object.
Along with re-treatability, authenticity is another important factor to consider. During the conservation process, fragments are often adhered together (provided the structure can support it) to demonstrate what the object would have originally looked like. A major point of debate, however, is whether to fill in the missing sections or to leave gaps exposed. Filling them can pose risks, including potential damage to the original material and limited reversibility once the fill sets. However, it also offers benefits, particularly in aiding visual interpretation when only small or fragmentary components survive. In the case of the Terracotta Warriors, conservators are hesitant to reconstruct missing pieces due to the fragility of the material and its susceptibility to cracking and erosion under fluctuating humidity. Therefore, although gap-filling may enhance the viewing experience, the actual process and decision to do so remains a constant debate within the field of conservation and must be made on a case-by-case basis, depending on the object in question.
The discovery of the Terracotta Warriors was monumental for both archaeology and history, but ongoing research continues to expand our understanding of them. Their global appeal underscores the importance of careful, ethical conservation, ensuring these extraordinary artefacts remain preserved for future generations.
Bibliography
Burman, E. (2018). Terracotta warriors: history, mystery and the latest discoveries. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
Lan, D. et al. (2014). Conservation of a polychrome terracotta warrior of the Qin dynasty: Newly excavated from vault 1 in Xi’an, Shaanxi, China. Studies in conservation. [Online] 59 (sup1), S77–S80.
Lei, Z. et al. (2023). A Complete Methodology for Structural Finite Element Analysis of Terracotta Sculptures Based on a 3D Scanned Model: A Case Study on the Terracotta Warriors (China). Studies in conservation. [Online] ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print), 1–12.
Featured Image Credit: The Terracotta Warriors, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-you-need-know-about-chinas-terra-cotta-warriors-first-qin-emperor-30942673/
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