The Terracotta Army is part of a much larger necropolis. The entire necropolis built for the emperor covering a large area was found surrounding the first emperor's tomb mound. The earthen tomb mound is located at the foot of Mount Li and built in a pyramidal shape with Qin Shi Huang’s necropolis complex constructed as a microcosm of his imperial palace or compound.[16] The warriors stood guard to the east of the tomb.
It consists of several offices, halls, stables, and other structures placed around the tomb mound, which is surrounded by two solidly built rammed earth walls with gateway entrances. Up to 5 metres (16 ft) of reddish, sandy soil had accumulated over the site in the two millennia following its construction, but archaeologists found evidence of earlier disturbances at the site. During the excavations near the Mount Li burial mound, archaeologists found several graves dating from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, where diggers had apparently struck terracotta fragments. These were discarded as worthless and used along with soil to back fill the excavations.[17]
The tomb
Main article: Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor
The tomb appears to be a hermetically-sealed space the size of a football pitch.[18][19] The tomb remains unopened, possibly due to concerns about preservation of its artifacts.[18] For example, after the excavation of the Terracotta Army, the painted surface present on some terracotta figures began to flake and fade.[20] The lacquer covering the paint can curl in fifteen seconds once exposed to Xi'an's dry air and can flake off in just four minutes.[21]