How many Terracotta Warriors are there?

How to get close to this number

Estimate from the pits. Three excavated pits contain the figures, with the largest holding rows of soldiers in formation across an area the size of several football pitches. A formation at human density over that area gives a count in the thousands.

The individuality is the fact that makes the number extraordinary: every face is different. Mass-producing thousands of figures with interchangeable bodies and unique heads is a manufacturing decision — modular production with a customised component — and it is a strikingly modern approach to scale.

The discovery and excavation status are the parts worth keeping. Farmers digging a well found them in 1974, which means the largest archaeological find of the century was an accident, and most of the tomb complex remains unexcavated. The count is of what has been uncovered, not of what exists, and it is expected to rise.