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The warriors were placed in these long narrow trenches four warriors across and about 10 feet deep. Each trench was separated by an Earth-rammed partition wall about 2 warriors thick. Timber logs were laid on top of the trenches/partition walls followed by fiber mats, then several meters of dirt. Despite the copious amount of historical writings, court records, etc. during Emperor Qin's reign, there is NO mention of this secret army tomb. The tomb was discovered by rebel soldiers led by XiangYu in 206 BCE. The figurines were shattered and the supporting timber beams burned and the tomb eventually forgotten until about 2200 years later in 1974. In 1978 National Geographic magazine published the first pictures in an English publication. Over 60 million people have visited the museum since its opening in 1979. There are three large pits on display with Pit 1 being the largest and the longest exposed to the light. The other two pits have much more subdued lighting.

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