In 1974 while digging a well, a local farmer came upon the Tera Cotta Warriors. They guard the tomb of an emperor who ruled from age 12 to 51. Seven hundred thousand Chinese worked on his tomb for 37 years to complete it. There are currently three pits comprising around 8000 warriors and the site is quite often considered the eighth wonder of the world. The reconstruction and repair of the warriors continues today. The actual tomb is still closed due to the presence of mercury.
We also visited Banpo Village, which was discovered in 1954 while the Chinese were excavating for a new power plant. Banjo Village is (are you ready for this?) 6000 years old. Some of the original burial pottery still exists, including 84 children’s urns. There are also 174 burial sites. The foundations, storage pits and moat can clearly be seen at the site.
I think Banpo Village is older than the pyramids, but I could be wrong by a 1,000 years or so.
