Terracotta Warriors stage comeback

The current exhibition of the renowned Terracotta Warriors at the British Museum has been the cause of debate among the great British public - haven't they been here before?

Current media coverage implies that this is the army's first visit to the UK, but many people are wondering if time has been unkind to their memory or whether this is the same Terracotta Army they had seen before.

This is in fact the fourth time the exhibition has touched British soil and many of the pieces on display have, in fact, been seen here before.

The warriors have previously been on display in Edinburgh and London - most recently at Westminster's Royal Horticultural Halls (RHH).

RHH has been inundated with calls from people who visited the exhibition 20 years ago, and who are eager to find out if they had actually seen the figures or not.

The exhibition, which took place at the Halls from December 1987 to February 1988, was well received by the public and frequently saw crowds queuing down the street awaiting a peek at the warriors.

The show garnered some 250,000 visitors over six weeks and took place in the Old Hall, now known as the Lindley Hall.

The pieces exhibited at the British Museum are the same as those on show at RHH in 1987; although there are many additional items this time around including some new finds.

The pieces currently on display at the British Museum are just a small percentage of the 8,099 life-size figures of warriors and horses located near the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor.

This historic discovery was made in 1974 by local farmers and has been subject to media interest ever since.

Back to top