Ancient history

2,300-year-old sword intact

A sword of at least 23 centuries it was discovered in a Chinese tomb in Xinyang city, Henan province. The peculiarity of the find is the unusual state of conservation of the bronze blade, which is still shiny and perfectly sharp. The news was given with a video published by Radio China International.
The discovery took place in a tomb that dates back to the Warring Kingdoms period (453 BC-221 BC).
The weapon is of the jian type, which is a straight double-edged sword.
During the period of the Warring Kingdoms, Chinese metallurgy made a qualitative leap:the production techniques of the first alloy had reached a high degree of perfection and it began to pass from bronze to steel weapons. In this case, the backbone of the blade would have been made with a bronze rich in copper, malleable but also elastic, while the cut is obtained from a bronze richer in tin, to obtain a better sharpening.