ancient dagger
This ancient Chinese dagger is over 2,500 years old.
Because it is in such an impeccable condition, it has managed to escape the ravages of time to remain a useful product.
It looks like a modern sword, and it even has the capability of cutting like one.
How Did We Find the Sword of Goujian?
An excavation team located the Sword of Goujian in a tomb in the Hubei region of China.
It was encased in a wooden box next to a skeleton that was virtually airtight.
Dating the dagger placed its creation at a date that could be as early as 771 BC.
When archeologists first saw the blade, they were immediately struck by the fact that it had no corrosion on it.
The dagger was perfectly untarnished despite being buried in damp conditions for at least 2,000 years.
The resistance to deterioration is remarkably impressive for an artifact that dates as far back as the Sword of Goujian does.
Testing confirmed that the blade was still sharp after archeologists recovered it, cutting a stack of 20 papers without sharpening the dagger.
Details About the Sword of Goujian
The Sword of Goujian measures 22 inches in length.
It is visually distinctive with its dark rhombi reppetern pattern that’s on both sides of the blade.
Embellishments of turquoise and blue crystal are in the tang, and then it was forged in tin and copper.
Two columns of eight characters are engraved on one side of the blade in bird-worm seal script.
After debating the dagger’s ownership for several months, most archeologists believe that the owner was King of Yue – and that it was made for his personal use.
Researchers found the Sword of Goujian among a series of 50 tombs in China.
Over 2,000 additional artifacts were recovered during this ambitious effort.
If you would like to see this incredible dagger today, then you must travel to the Hubei Provincial Museum, where the Sword of Goujian remains on display.
