China

Mom and I went to see the only U.S. exhibit this year, of the Terracotta Soldiers from China. Really, really interesting. I didn't know that ALL 8000+ soldiers had been smashed by cave-ins. And that they have had to put them all back together, piece by piece. Talk about tedious work! I also didn't know that they were all painted, originally. They are so old though that the paint starts to flake off within seconds after being exposed to the air. 

Like the King Tut exhibit, I was struck by the craftsmanship of something so old. Even Mom said "they made bronze arrows BC but our native Americans were using wood." 

Take a look at the photos - look at the dates! and if you look closely, you see all the cracks where each soldier was pieced back together; (you can click on the picture to see it larger)

This was only about an inch across.

 Even the plain ol' bells were pretty!

 this is actual body armor. Each piece is made out of STONE! Can you imagine how heavy this was?!!?

this is how they looked when they were new

It's really something to see...if you ever get a chance.