The terracotta army is a bit like an enormous 3-D puzzle, made up of fragments of 8,000 life-size clay figures. 

When the terracotta warriors were discovered, many had been smashed and archaeologists and restorers spent months, or even years, on each figure, finding the right places for all the pieces and sticking them back together.

New technology is allowing these figures to be restored more accurately. When the first statues were unearthed, exposure to air caused the paint to flake off immediately. Today restorers are able to work quickly to preserve any color pigments, revealing that the statues were originally painted in bright colours.

Our Terracotta Warriors resource includes a puzzle of a terracotta soldier's face. Putting it together gives students an insight into what it must be like to restore these ancient statues. It's harder than it looks!