In April 2026, my hubby and I went to China, and I finally got to tick off the number 1 item on my bucket list. The one place I've wanted to see more than anywhere else on earth. The Terracotta Warriors. YAY. Have you heard of them?
I first heard of them when I was about nine years old, and the mystery surrounding these incredible buried artifacts has stayed with me forever.
As usual I took soooo many photos, but none of them show you the sheer scale of this archaeological discovery. Here I am, grinning like a loon, with a whole silent army stretching out behind me. Excuse my hair, my hubby had to help me swim through about a million people to get me to the front of the viewing area. (That part was an absolute nightmare - and a tad scary, we were like human bulldozers trying to get through the crowd)
All these hand-made clay warriors were buried about 20 feet underground. The story behind how they were discovered is fascinating.
Back in 1974, a group of local farmers were digging a well in a dusty field near the city of Xi'an. Instead of water, they hit pieces of a life-sized clay man. They had no idea they'd just uncovered one of the greatest archaeological finds in history, an entire buried army built for China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, more than 2,000 years ago.
And when I say army, I mean it. Experts believe there are about 8,000 soldiers down there, along with horses and chariots. Every single warrior has a different face. Can you believe that? No mass production back then, so every soldier and horse was crafted by hand.
After 50 years of painstaking work, only about 2,000 of the warriors have actually been dug out. They estimate another 6,000 still under the ground, waiting to be excavated. Our guide told us they think it could take another 100 years to uncover them all.
The reason it's so slow is heartbreaking. When the warriors were first made, they were painted in bright, beautiful colors. But the moment that ancient paint meets our modern air, it curls and flakes away. Archaeologists have watched priceless color vanish within minutes. So now they'd rather leave the warriors safely buried than lose what makes them special, and they're hoping that technology will help them preserve these incredible relics sometime in the future.
Close by, under a huge grassy mound, sits the emperor's own tomb. And in over 2,000 years, no one has ever opened it. Ancient records claim it's protected by rivers of liquid mercury, built to flow like real rivers and seas. People assumed that was just a legend, until scientists tested the soil above the tomb and found the mercury levels were sky high. So the legend might be true, and that's a big reason no one has dared to dig in. The secrets of China's first emperor are still down there, sealed in the dark.
I stood there for ages, taking it in, trying to imagine the number of people it took to make them, and how long it must have taken to craft each individual one.
And on top of that, there's one question that nobody can answer... Why were all these soldiers buried?
I mean, why go to all the trouble of making thousands of incredible, unique soldiers, with perfect details, only to bury them where no one would ever lay eyes on them. It makes no sense. And yet, that's what happened.
Speaking of hidden treasure... did you know I have a whole six-book series based around ancient missing treasure?
My Treasure Hunters series features Archer and Rosalina, who chase long-lost treasures across the globe.
From the pyramids of Egypt to the jungles of Brazil, they unravel ancient clues and try to stay one step ahead of some very dangerous people. He's a protective alpha with a luxury yacht. She's a sassy heroine with a secret past. Together they're all sparks, danger and adventure.
It all kicks off with book one, Treasured Secrets. If a globe-trotting treasure hunt with a side of steamy romance sounds like your thing, come dig in. Or, if you're down for a good binge read, grab the first 3 books in this boxset.