Shaanxi is one of the important birthplaces of the Chinese nation and Chinese civilization, and is currently included in the "14th Five-Year Plan" for the protection and utilization of large ruins. In July 1974, the archaeological exploration and excavation of the No. 1 pit of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shi Huang officially began, which opened the prelude to the large-scale, scientific, systematic and comprehensive archaeology of the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and the 50th anniversary of the archaeological excavation of the Qin Terracotta Warriors.
The laboratory was put into use to solve the problem of painting protection
After more than 2,000 years of deep burial, the preserved pigments, in the most extreme case, underwent drastic changes within a few minutes after unearthing, and began to dehydrate, warp, peel off, and some were left on the mud layer. You see, this is the feet of a newly unearthed terracotta warrior wearing boots, and when you lift the soil, you can see the paint that remains on the soil layer. The terracotta warriors and horses were burned and destroyed in ancient times, and because of their age, there are very few paintings that can be preserved to the present day. Every piece of painting found during the excavation must be carefully preserved.
Ten years of exploration to find the key materials for the conservation of painting
Thirty years ago, we really didn't have a very good way to deal with the pigments that stuck to the soil, and then after a long period of exploration, about 20 years ago, the conservation experts found two key materials, which are the white mixture of liquid that you now see in this small bottle. It contains two polymers, polyethylene glycol and polyurethane emulsion, one for moisturizing and the other for reinforcement. Once the painted figurines are out of the closed environment of constant temperature and humidity, they need to be brushed and maintained every once in a while. How great the restored terracotta complexion is, this thing is simply a moisturizer and setting liquid for the terracotta army.
Paint protection new technology The colorimeter locks the color without deviation
Today, with this laboratory, the protection methods of our terracotta warriors and horses painting are new. First of all, I would like to introduce you to this colorimeter. Our visual observation of color may be affected by angle, diffuse reflection and some psychological factors, the colorimeter is almost unaffected, the laser detects every 10 seconds, if there is no change, the waveform display here will be a straight line, and once there is a change, you see, the expert interferes with a piece of paper, and the waveform changes. Therefore, if there is even a slight change in color, we can take protective measures at the first time.
A super-depth-of-field microscope captures the fingerprints of ancient craftsmen
There is also this instrument, called the Super Depth of Field Microscope, which is said to be able to see many details that are not easy to see with the naked eye, especially when you use it to see the traces left inside, you may find something different. You see, there is a fingerprint displayed on the screen now, which should be the fingerprint left by the figurine-making craftsman more than 2,000 years ago, and we collect such fingerprints and compare them in the database, which may find a lot of new historical information, which is a very meaningful research direction.
Cultural relics protection technology makes the terracotta warriors and horses colorful
There are many more high-tech methods like this in this laboratory. For example, work record system, cultural relics information collection system and so on. So, now visit the Mausoleum Museum of Qin Shi Huangdi, visitors can see the magical "green face figurines", the "purple sleeve figurines" with Chinese purple, the exquisite belt decoration behind the military figurines, and the lifelike painted figurines. The terracotta warriors are becoming more and more colorful, and the power of these technologies is at work.
This photo is what the laboratory looked like two years ago, in an open space, there is no constant temperature and humidity, no air purification, and no high-precision protective weapons we just saw.
Source: CCTV