‘Silent Warriors’
Follow me. Come with me into this room covered with black drapery and a few touches of gold, Chinese music chanting in the background and soft light – just enough to illuminate the life-sized sculptures of Chinese soldiers. These soldiers on platforms look gigantic and they look down at you with their shrewd slanted eyes as if they are going to take life and charge at you.
Who are these soldiers? What are they guarding? These soldiers were discovered in 1974, but had been buried since 210BC. These terracotta soldiers were built as an army for the emperor to use after his death, because it was believed that the emperor needed a regiment of soldiers for the battle in the afterlife.
So now that we know who these soldiers are, let’s look more closely at them and walk slowly from one to the other before they turn and leave. The skill with which these soldiers were made is fascinating and you will stand to look at them in awe. These soldiers are all different, though very similar. All they need is to take life and narrate to us what they have been through. They can give us an account of the time in which they lived and the time spent in the emperor’s tomb. These soldiers existed a long time ago and though they are silent, they have a lot to say; more than we can ever assume.
The video running at the same time with the exhibition shows us the studies these soldiers underwent, after they were excavated. Apart from this, if you look closely at these soldiers, they all have a different facial expression and their hands seem to be doing different jobs. As you start walking out of the room, leaving behind you this ancient culture, you can see small ornaments also discovered in this tomb. Before entering again the real world of Valletta, you can have the last taste of this interesting exhibition by pausing in front of a touch screen to acquire more knowledge or to answer the questions you have asked yourself while looking at the exhibition.
Details about the exhibition: at the National Museum of Archaeology – Valletta
Until July Opening hours: Monday-Sunday: 9am-7pm