Researchers from the Jiangxi Provincial Research Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology in China have discovered the remains of a complex sized suit of armor recovered from a Han Dynasty tomb that is more than 2,000 years old.
This unusual armor is made up of many different materials. This made it the first type of armor to be approved by the Han Dynasty. As announced by the institute on December 7, according to Xinhua news agency–
The tomb belonged to Liu He. a prince He inherited the throne of the Western Han Dynasty (202 BCE to 25 AD) only 27 days before he was deposed. He was (though not murdered) at the time of his death many years later. He is known as the Marquis of Haihun. Archaeologists discovered him A well-preserved cemetery in eastern China's Jiangxi Province in 2011
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two years ago Archaeologists discover armor scales (aka plates) along with knives and swords in a pile in the tomb's armory room. Based on information from historical blog– Considering the remains of lacquer, which is a hard, shiny coating Archaeologists therefore speculate that the armor was originally housed in a lacquered box that has now decomposed.
“The Haihun Hou Tomb has experienced earthquakes and higher groundwater levels due to the expansion of the Poyang Lake area, so the armor fragments are in a fragile state,” said Yang Jun from the Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and head of the excavation. The team that dug the grave said: Xinhua news agency– Throughout the two year period The team, which included researchers from the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and several other institutions, extracted 6,000 armor scales and took them to a laboratory for analysis and recovery.
This armor is characterized by the size and distinctive material of its scales. Bai Rong Jin of the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said scales on Han dynasty armor were typically 0.39 to 3.94 inches (4 to 10 centimeters) wide. The smaller the scales, the more necessary they were. It required more skill to create such a meticulous device.
However, the “smallest piece of armor” from the Marquis of Haihun's tomb “is approximately 1 cm wide and 0.2 cm thick, making it the smallest piece of fish scale armor excavated during archaeological investigations of the Marquis of Haihun ruins.” “Han Dynasty,” he explained. Archaeologists also discovered that armor was made from a variety of materials, including iron, copper, and leather. This is also common. As Rong Jin noted, Han Dynasty armor usually consisted of a single piece of material. In fact Scales are the only example of armor made from multiple materials from the Han Dynasty.
Finally, the armor is a stunning example of Han Dynasty military equipment. and reflects the excellent level of armor production available in the region at the time. Perhaps it could be said that even Liu He might have been humiliated during his lifetime. But he was buried with honor.