Most people would be shocked and disgusted to see a head suddenly poppin out of the earth of their private garden and giving them a stare, but in the case of one Chinese farmer, this was the beginning of a huge discovery for all of humanity.
The cave of the terracotta soldiers - which was designated a UNESCO world heritage site - is a subterranean cave containing no less than 7,000 clay , life-sized statues of soldiers, meant to serve the first emperor of China in the afterlife.
The cave of the terracotta soldiers, located about half an hour's drive from the city of Xi'an, was discovered completely by accident as a local famer was digging into his land with the goal of building a well, found, to his amazement, a life-sized head made of terracotta (a type of clay) buried in it. It took him 10 years to report his finding, which began a frenzy of digging in the area that took 70,000 workers 36 years to complete. During that time, thousands of clay soldiers were discovered, completing a complete, hand-made army.
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