Ancient stone statues, older & possibly more numerous than the Terracotta Army uncovered in China!

G'Day ATS,

I haven't posted for a while, but on seeing this I just had to come out of semi-retirement!!

Of course, you must all be aware of the Qin Terracotta Army.

Qin Terracotta Army

The Terracotta Army is the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shi Huang the First Emperor of China. The terracotta figures, dating from 210 BC, were discovered in 1974 by some local farmers near Xi'an, Shaanxi province, China near the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor. The figures vary in height (183–195 cm - 6 ft–6 ft 5in), according to their roles, with the tallest being the generals. The figures include warriors, chariots, horses, officials, acrobats, strongmen, and musicians. Current estimates are that in the three pits containing the Terracotta Army there were over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which are still buried in the pits.

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Quite astounding, which makes this article even more exciting!!

Statues older, more numerous than terracotta warriors found in Hunan - PEOPLE'S DAILY ONLINE

A large cache of ancient stone statues outnumbering the Qin Terracotta Warriors was found in the depths of the Nanling Mountains located in Dao County of Yongzhou City, according to the Xiang Gan Yue Gui Archeology Summit Forum held in Yongzhou, Hunan Province on Aug. 17.

SECOND SOURCE

Chinese Legion of Guizai Stone Statues outnumbers Terracotta Army - HERITAGE KEY

Located on what is an ancient worship site, the discovery of over 5,000 statues are spread over 15 square kilometres and the vast majority are believed to have been carved before the Qin dynasty era.

The anthropoid stone statues range from 30cm to 100cm in height, and take the form of several ranks of soldiers and military officiers, as well as civilian officials and pregnant women. Some are believed to be buried up to two metres below the ground.

What is truly cool is the fact that at least a third of these statues are believed to be 5,000 years old, compared to approximately 2,250 years old for the Terracotta Army.

Although there are some pics if you follow the links. I'll try and get some more and post them for you.

This is quite a discovery. The statues may not be as large as the terracotta army and are spread over a larger area, but they are impressive none the less.

All the best ATS, Kiwi








[edit on 19-8-2010 by kiwifoot]

This is so awesome! Thanks for the link OP. Glad to see some here love realy history.

Originally posted by Romantic_Rebel
This is so awesome! Thanks for the link OP. Glad to see some here love realy history.

No worries, yep I love it all right.

You may like:

Çatalhöyük, the Neolithic City that pre-dated the Ancient Egyptians by 4,000 years!

Akrotiri, the Minoan “Pompeii” - buried by the eruption of Thera (twice the size of Krakatoa!)

Sound - The Lost Secret of the Ancient Monument Builders is Finally Coming to Light!

Or check out some of Kandinsky's threads:

Egyptian Surgery? Wow!

reply to post by kiwifoot


Great find.

What I dont get is this,

The figures vary in height (183–195 cm - 6 ft–6 ft 5in),

I go to china a lot and there aint many chinese over 6'

reply to post by kiwifoot


Another excellent find there Kiwifoot..... even some of those Soldiers are showing the "thumbs up"

S+F

reply to post by CynicalM


That's what i thought when i saw the height of them too.

Quite unusual, especially as the smallest (denoting the lowest ranked) is 6', and the tallest 6.5'.

The detail is awesome, i understand that another amazing thing about them is that they are all unique? No two are the same?

Thanks Kiwi, interesting as always.

Could this be the ancient Chinese's way of preserving a record of themselves? That each of these unique statues actually is a representation of a once living person and not some random creation?

Cultures all around the world, built and left behind impressive buildings and structures as memorials to their technology and culture, and as a way of immortalizing their societies.

Could this be the same thing, only on a more personal, human level?

They are incredibly detailed, and tell us a much about the hierarchies and organisation structures, technology, art and ordinary life of the people they were modeled after.

It's a much more personal memorial, than a building.

When i lived in China i went to see the Terracotta Army. Its a truely amazing place. They are in a huge hanger and there are hundreds of them. Thats why i love china so much. So mucg culture and mystery, and the monky king

reply to post by Village Idiot


Originally, these soldiers would have carried banners and the royal colours.

The thumbs up gesture is not a gesture at all, it's where they once carried swords, and their thumbs are in the characteristic hilt position, on the scabbards.

"Based on the existing information and field investigations, archeologists deduced that Guizai Mountain with these stone statues was simply a large altar. Prehistoric people chose the site as an altar and placed stone statues on it. The stone statues have a primitive sacrificial or commemorative meaning and have a history of thousands of years."

This is a guess. It also could have been a change in culture or deity beliefs and they were forced to dump all the idols from the previous belief system. They might have been a conquered people and this is where cultural artifacts were disposed of.
I don't think they should assume that these were primitive people.
Nice find, I look forward to more pictures.

WHAT IF...

...these armies are the actual armies used by ancient emperors, frozen forever in stone, to be awoken when their emperor needs them again?

OR

...these are the actual homunculi armies of ancient emperors?

I can only hope that one day the tomb is opened. It is one of the few left untouched, unrobbed and unopened.

Nice find though OP. 30-100 cm though, is quite small for the older statues!

I'm a bit confused, the latest discovery only has 5,000 statues, but the Qin Terracotta Army had over 8,000. So how come the article says that latest discovery is "more numerous" than the Qin Terracotta Army???

It's still a great discovery, I just don't understand this conflict of facts.

When I first heard of these figures a few years ago I thought that they were created for the battlefield, as 'extra' soldiers that would make the standing army look bigger than it actually was - psychological warfare of sorts.

Very interesting stuff

reply to post by SmedleyBurlap


Well, creative idea!


In any case, good thread OP - thanks for the great information.

reply to post by LiveForever8


It's as good a theory as any mate.

Could well have been..from distance, holding their flags and banners aloft, they would have looked imposing, especially as they were all originally brightly painted in lifelike colours.

Plus they were very large by Chinese standards, so would have been even more frightening to the enemy.

Could well have been a secret weapon as you say, we used to have inflatable tanks, and cardboard aircraft placed on runways etc during WW2, so if we did it, they may of too.

reply to post by SlasherOfVeils


I cannot understand why the pyramid tomb/complex has never been excavated?

Apparently, Chinese authorities forbid it...even now, for some reason. Maybe the detested emperor was..ahem..from further away, MUCH further away than China!

amazing.... i wish i could have one of those in my front yard or in my room

Wow, what a fantastic find. Guess we haven't found everything discovered yet!
Imagine, having a few of those statues in the garden. They would be something of a focal point. Much better than a Buddha statue.

Originally posted by spikey
reply to post by SlasherOfVeils

 

I cannot understand why the pyramid tomb/complex has never been excavated?

Apparently, Chinese authorities forbid it...even now, for some reason. Maybe the detested emperor was..ahem..from further away, MUCH further away than China!

don't tell me you're making reference to the silly theory that Aryans kick-started Chinese civilization ...

reply to post by kiwifoot
Nice thread as ever Kiwi Somehow your OPs always bubble with enthusiasm and add life to your subject. It's a good quality.

Looking at the statues, I'm reminded of the movie Spirited Away when Chihiru walks through the grove of statues...

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