Wow, this was so cool to see in person. Worth the hype ... and one could only imagine what will be there in 50 years, as they continue to excavate. These soldiers may only be the tip of the iceberg. Qin Shi Huang, or Shi Hunagdi as our textbook calls him, was an authoritative ruler who not only constructed an early version of the Great Wall of China, but also unified China into the Qin Dynasty (Qin = China). He made thousands of people slaves over his tomb. But, in looking for eternal life, he found death. He most likely died thinking that mercury was the elixir of life. There is so much mercury in the unexcavated pit, that the soil is still polluted in the area. The pit was found in 1974 by local farmers. Did they receive fame and fortune? Nope, the Communist government during the Cultural Revolution gave them a bag of wheat!!! Today, you improve on a napkin patent and you get an easy 3 million. Go figure.