Weishan Mountain is situated in the western part of Zhangqiu City, on the boundary between plains and mountainous areas, with an altitude of about 205 metres. To its south, you can catch a distant view of the northern hills of the Taiyi Mountain Range. Surrounded by piedmont plains on all sides, Weishan Mountain, though not high above sea level, stands out as a towering peak rising from the flat land.
In 2001, the Shengjing Sub-district planned to invest 130 million yuan to reconstruct the Weishan Scenic Area. That year, 40 million yuan was spent on building Shengjing Square and restoring some Taoist temples and shrines.
In 2002, Han Dynasty burial pits were uncovered during afforestation work in the scenic zone. Thanks to strong cultural relic protection awareness, the discovery of terracotta figurines was promptly reported to cultural heritage authorities through official channels.
The Shandong Provincial Department of Culture and Jinan Municipal Bureau of Culture attached great importance to the find and set up a joint archaeological team composed of researchers from the Shandong Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Jinan Institute of Archaeology and Zhangqiu Museum.
From November 29 to December 30, the team carried out emergency excavation on the Han Dynasty terracotta pits at Weishan Mountain.
Three Han Dynasty burial pits were unearthed in total.
Pit No.1 held chariot and horse figurines.
Pit No.2 contained figurines reflecting the daily life of the tomb owner.
In Pit No.3, apart from scattered human bones inside stone and wooden coffins, archaeologists found pottery pots, basins and other utensils, together with thirty to forty arrowheads and some stone balls of unknown purpose.
Pit No.1 runs north to south, measuring approximately 9.7 metres long, 1.9 metres wide and 0.7 to 0.9 metres deep. The terracotta soldiers, chariots and horses were arranged in rows from south to north, forming a grand procession that depicts a nobleman’s ceremonial outing in the Han Dynasty.
Nearly 400 to 500 relics were found inside. The collapse of the pit’s roof caused severe damage to the chariots, horses and figurines.
The finds included more than 170 terracotta warriors, over 50 pottery horses, 4 chariot models and nearly 100 shields. There were also ritual musical pottery artefacts such as ceremonial drums, jade bi discs, stone chime qing and pearls.
All pottery pieces were painted with bright colours and crafted vividly.
Pit No.2 lies to the west of Pit No.1. It is 3.3 metres long from north to south and 26 metres wide from east to west. At the bottom lay one chariot, two horses and seven figurines, five of which were female attendants. Traces of decayed wooden boxes were also identified on the pit floor.
Ever since their discovery, the age, nature, rank and function of the Weishan burial pits have drawn widespread public attention, giving rise to numerous divergent and even contradictory theories and speculations.
These pits are the largest terracotta figurine pits ever discovered in Shandong Province and represent a major breakthrough in Han Dynasty archaeology.
Leading experts state that among all terracotta armies unearthed nationwide, this group ranks third in scale, structure and historical significance, second only to the Terracotta Army of Emperor Qin Shi Huang and the Yangjiawa Terracotta Army in Xianyang, Shaanxi Province.
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