Warriors of eternity, Sculpture in Metz, France
Guerriers de l'éternité is a sculpture in Metz made up of three concrete figures lying on their backs in a pit beneath a metal grate at Place du Pasteur Griesbeck. The figures are set between the Arsenal and Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains, about 13 to 16 feet (4 to 5 meters) below street level, arranged around a stone basin.
In 1992, Metz held an exhibition at the Arsenal featuring eight warriors and two horses from the Terracotta Army of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, whose original figures were made around 210 BC. After the exhibition, three concrete reproductions were placed permanently underground as a lasting reference to that event.
The pit is visible from street level through the metal grate, so no entry is required to see the figures. Taking a moment to stop and look down carefully through the grate gives the clearest view of the three figures below.
Many people walk over the grate every day without realizing they are stepping above the figures of soldiers once buried to guard an emperor in the afterlife. The original warriors were found in 1974 by farmers digging near the imperial tomb in China.
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