Terracotta Warriors Pit 2

Pictures of Terracotta Warriors Pit 2

The Pit No.2 in Xi'an Qin Terracotta Army is located about 20 meters (22 yards) to the northeast of Pit No.1 and 120 meters (130 yards) to the east of Pit No.3. Although not as grand as Pit 1, the Terracotta Warriors Pit 2 is the most complete pit as it houses all types of terracotta warriors found so far, including infantries, cavalries, chariot warriors and archers.

Covering an area of 6,000 square meters (7,176 square yards) or so, the Pit 2 is L-shaped, approximately measuring 96 meters (105 yards) from east to west, 84 meters (92 yards) from north to south, and 5 meters (16 feet) deep. By now, only one sixth of the pit has been fully excavated while the rest are partially unearthed to reveal the remains of wooden shelters. This terracotta warriors Pit 2 was found in May of 1976, and opened to visitors on October 1st, 1994.

 

Terracotta Army Pit 2 is the most spectacular of the three pits. Compared to Pit 1, the combat formations in Pit 2 are more complex, and the units of armed forces are more complete. According to preliminary calculations, there are over 80 war chariots, about 1,300 terracotta warriors and horses, and thousands of bronze weapons inside it. It is a revelation to first discover the terracotta general, the kneeling archer and the cavalry warrior with saddle horse in the pit. There are two sloping entrances on the northern side, and four on both ends of the eastern and western sides.

Military Formation in Terracotta Army Pit 2

Archers Array in Terracotta Warriors Pit 2

This array has a square shape. There are four corridors around the four sides full of standing archers. In the center of the square, there are four east-west passageways where 160 kneeling archers are aligned in squatting position. The distinct green-faced terracotta warrior and well-known colored warriors are discovered inside this array in 1999.

 See more about True Colors of Terracotta Warriors
 

This array measures 52 meters (57 yards) from east to west, and 48 meters (52 yards) from north to south. Sixty-four war chariots make up a combat formation, which is divided into eight rows. Each chariot is pulled by four life-sized terracotta horses. Three chariot warriors are side by side behind the chariot, with the middle one driving the carriage and the others standing on either side. 
 

This is a rectangular combat formation made up of 264 foot soldiers and eight cavalrymen, as well as 19 war chariots. There are three clusters. One cavalry man stands in front of a horse with one hand drawing a bow and the other hand holding the rein. Additionally, there are between eight and thirty-six foot soldiers standing behind each chariot.
 

In this array, there are three east-west passageways where all the chariot warriors, cavalry warriors and horses are aligned. The section measures 50 meters (55 yards) from east to west and 23 meters (25 yards) from north to south.

 See more Military Formation of Terracotta Army   

Next to the pit, there is a large exhibition hall with many cultural relics unearthed from terracotta warriors Pit 2 on display. Visitors can closely witness a certain number of representative pottery figures and Qin weapons there, such as pottery general officers, terracotta cavalry warriors, bronze swords and pictures of the colorized terracotta soldiers…
 

Usually, Terracotta Warriors Pit 1 is the first stop to visit when taking a trip to Terracotta Army. Then, tourists generally go to Pit 3 and Pit 2 in succession because the entrance of the pit No.2 is not far from the exit of No.3 pit. 


Read more:
Why are there partition walls in the pit of Terracotta Army?
Second Excavation of Pit 2 of Terracotta Army

 Recommended Tour Itinerary:
Terracotta Warriors Tour: One-day to visit Terracotta Warriors and Horses and more
More Xi'an Tours

Next: Terracotta Warriors Pit 3