Research discovers 2,000-year-old composite scale armor

NANCHANG, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese cultural relics researchers announced a new discovery on Saturday, stating that fragments unearthed from the tomb of the Marquis of Haihun in east China's Jiangxi Province, which date back over 2,000 years, are believed to be part of scale armor crafted from various materials.

This is the first discovery of such composite armor, made from a combination of materials like lacquered iron, copper and leather, in archaeological excavation of Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD) sites, showcasing the pinnacle of armor-making techniques of that era, according to the provincial institute of archaeology and cultural relics.

After more than two years of meticulous work, researchers have restored approximately 6,000 armor plates from among those unearthed in the weapons section of the tomb, alongside knives and swords, according to Yang Jun, head of the excavation team.

"The smallest plate is just 1 cm wide and about 0.2 cm thick, making it the smallest scale armor plate unearthed from Han Dynasty sites," said Bai Rongjin, an expert in armor protection and research from the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

According to Bai, scale armor is mostly found in Han Dynasty tombs and is usually made with a single material, with each plate measuring 4 to 10 cm in width. The smaller the armor plates, the more plates are required to assemble the armor -- reflecting the increasing complexity of its production process.

The discovery of the armor from the tomb of the Marquis of Haihun provides important material data for the study of armor-making techniques in the Han Dynasty, Bai said.

This tomb, the excavation of which was one of the most significant archaeological activities in the country in recent years, is one of the few imperial tombs not to have been looted, and dates back to the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC-25 AD).

The remains of Liu He, known as the Marquis of Haihun, were found in a coffin in an interior chamber following excavation -- which began in 2011. The remains were removed in January 2016 for further research.