Researchers from the Jiangxi Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute in China have recovered the corpse of a complex scurf armour recover from an over 2,000 - year - old Han Dynasty tomb .
The strange armour is compose of multiple materials , making it the first of its sort documented from the Han Dynasty , the institute announced on December 7 , as reported byXinhua News Agency .
The grave belonged to Liu He , a prince whoinherited the imperial throneof the Western Han Dynasty ( 202 BCE to 25 CE ) for only 27 sidereal day before he was deposed ( though not shoot down ) . At the time of his death eld later , he was known as the Marquis of Haihun . Archaeologists break hiswell - preserved tombin east China ’s Jiangxi Province in 2011 .
A closeup of the armor scales.© Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology
中国江西省文物考古研究院は７日、同省南昌市にある前漢時代の諸侯墓、海昏侯劉賀墓から出土した甲冑の甲片の暫定的な整理が完了したと発表した。研究者が甲片約６千枚を復元した結果、漆塗りの鉄と銅、皮を組み合わせた魚鱗甲の一部だと分かった。複数の材質からなる漢代の甲冑が見つかるのは初めて。pic.twitter.com / mxV3OY0Jgj
— 中国 新華社 日本語 ( @XHJapanese)December 10 , 2024
Two years ago , archaeologist discovered armor scale ( also known as collection plate ) along with knife and brand in a pile in the armory way of the tomb , according toThe History Blog . Given the remains of lacquer — a hard , shiny finishing — archaeologist assume that the armor had primitively been pack in now - disintegrate lacquer - coated boxes .
The numbered armor scales. © Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology
“ The Haihun Hou Tomb had been through earthquakes and rising groundwater levels due to the elaboration of the Poyang Lake area , so the armor fragment were in a fragile state , ” Yang Jun of Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and head of the excavation team who unearthed the grave toldXinhua News Agency . Over the line of two years , the team — let in researchers from the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and several other institutions — extracted 6,000 armor scale and brought them to a science lab for psychoanalysis and restoration .
The armor abide out for the typical size and fabric of its scales . According to Bai Rongjin of the Institute of Archaeology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences , the scale on Han Dynasty armor normally have a width of 0.39 to 3.94 inch ( 4 to 10 centimeters ) . The smaller the scales , the more are required , demand greater skill to craft such a punctilious piece of equipment .
However , “ The little armour composition ” from the Marquis of Haihun grave “ is about 1 centimetre wide and 0.2 centimetre thick , make up it the smallest Pisces plate armor piece excavate during archaeological investigation of Han Dynasty ruins , ” he explain . to boot , archeologist discovered that the armor had been made of multiple material , including atomic number 26 , copper , and leather . This is also strange , as Rongjin remark that Han Dynasty armor was normally composed of a single stuff . In fact , the scales are the only documented example of armor made of multiple materials from the Han Dynasty .
The armor finally represent a stunning example of Han Dynasty military equipment , and reflect the fantabulous floor of armor production that exist in the realm at the time . Perhaps it even intimate that though Liu He may have been disgraced during his lifetime , he was entomb with honor .
ArchaeologyBurialsChinaHan Dynasty
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