1. All images of objects by kind permission Shaanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau © The Trustees of the British Museum. Image: Armoured general, terracotta, Qin dynasty (221–206 BC).
Museum of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shihuang, Lintong, Shaanxi Province, China.
Terracotta figures

2. Kneeling archer from Pit 2, terracotta, Qin dynasty (221–206 BC)
Kneeling archer from Pit 2, terracotta, Qin dynasty (221–206 BC). Museum of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shihuang, Lintong, Shaanxi Province, China.

3. Two chariot horses from Pit 1, terracotta, Qin dynasty (221–206 BC)
Two chariot horses from Pit 1, terracotta, Qin dynasty (221–206 BC). Museum of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shihuang, Lintong, Shaanxi Province, China.

4. Unarmoured general from Pit 1, terracotta, Qin dynasty (221–206 BC)
Unarmoured general from Pit 1, terracotta, Qin dynasty (221–206 BC). Museum of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shihuang, Lintong, Shaanxi Province, China.

5. Details of different hairstyles and headgear on terracotta figures
Details of different hairstyles and headgear on terracotta figures. Top row from left: acrobat, infantryman, infantryman, cavalryman. Bottom row from left: infantryman, infantryman, general with ‘pheasant-tail’ headdress, stable boy.
Qin dynasty (221–206 BC). Museum of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shihuang, Lintong, Shaanxi Province, China.

6. Three terracotta figures showing different types of armour
Three terracotta figures showing different types of armour. From left to right: cavalryman, armoured infantryman, armoured general. Terracotta, Qin dynasty (221–206 BC). Museum of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shihuang, Lintong, Shaanxi Province, China.

7. Terracotta figure of a strongman excavated to the south-east of the Emperor’s tomb mound between the inner and outer walls of the tomb complex. 11 figures of entertainers – acrobats and strongmen – were found in this pit.
Museum of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shihuang, Lintong, Shaanxi Province, China.

8. Terracotta figure of a seated musician excavated from a pit 1 km north-east of the Emperor’s tomb mound. It is thought that he played a stringed musical instrument called a yijia, similar to a zither. 15 figures of musicians were found in this pit; they would have played to the bronze birds also found in the pit, which danced to the music.
Museum of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shihuang, Lintong, Shaanxi Province, China.

9. Life-size bronze model of a crane with a fish or worm in its mouth excavated from the same pit as the musician. 46 models of birds – swans, cranes and geese – were found in this pit, arranged in order of size along the banks of an artificial river. In real life, the birds would have been trained to dance in time to music.
Museum of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shihuang, Lintong, Shaanxi Province, China.