China to create 3D digital version of terracotta army

The conservation authorities of Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s mausoleum in central China announced yesterday that they would digitize the museum’s collections, including the famous Terracotta Army guarding the emperor’s tomb. Three-dimensional modelling techniques and panorama photos will be used to digitally reproduce 20,000 square metres of the pits at the site, which contain thousands of soldiers and horses, Efe news agency reported. The digitization will be carried out jointly by the museum and Northwestern University, China. The construction of the Terracotta Army -- composed of over 8,000 figures -- was ordered by Emperor Qin, the founder of the first dynasty of the eastern civilization, who ruled between 221-210 BC. The Terracotta Army was discovered by chance in 1974 by farmers and is considered to be one of the most important archaeological finds of the 20th century. It symbolically guards the emperor’s tomb and has never been opened for fear its interior may get damaged.