Archaeologists discover rare ‘fish scale’ armor in 2,000-year-old Chinese tomb

Researchers from the Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Archaeological Research and Cultural Relics in China have recovered the remains of complex scale armor recovered from a more than 2,000-year-old Han Dynasty tomb.

The unusual armor is composed of multiple materials, making it the first of its kind documented from the Han dynasty, the institute announced on December 7, as reported Xinhua News Agency.

The tomb belonged to Liu He, a prince who inherited the imperial throne of the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC to AD 25) for only 27 days before being deposed (although not assassinated). At the time of his death years later, he was known as the Marquis of Haihun. Archaeologists discovered their well preserved tomb in eastern China’s Jiangxi province in 2011.

The Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology of China’s Jiangxi Province announced on the 7th that it had completed the preliminary arrangement of armor fragments excavated from the tomb of Prince Haiguan Liuhe, an ancient tomb of the Han Dynasty located in Nanchang, the province . The researchers reconstructed approximately 6,000 shell fragments and found that they were part of a fish scale shell made from a combination of lacquered iron, copper and leather. This is the first time that Han Dynasty armor made of multiple materials has been found. pic.twitter.com/mxV3OY0Jgj

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Two years ago, archaeologists discovered scales of armor (also known as plates) along with knives and swords in a pile in the tomb’s armory room, according to The history blog. Given the remains of lacquer (a hard, shiny coating), archaeologists assumed that the armor had originally been packed in now-disintegrated lacquer-coated boxes.

“Haihun Hou’s tomb had suffered from earthquakes and rising groundwater levels due to the expansion of the Poyang Lake area, so the armor fragments were in a fragile state,” said Yang Jun of the Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics. and Jiangxi Archeology and head of the excavation. team that unearthed the grave said Xinhua News Agency. Over the course of two years, the team (including researchers from the Institute of Archeology 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 restoration.

The armor stood out for the distinctive size and material of its scales. According to Bai Rongjin of the Institute of Archeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, scales on Han Dynasty armor typically range in width from 0.39 to 3.94 inches (4 to 10 centimeters). The smaller the scales, the more they are required, requiring greater skill to manufacture such meticulous equipment.

However, “the smallest piece of armor” from the tomb of the Marquis of Haihun “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 ruins of the Han dynasty,” he explained. Additionally, archaeologists discovered that the armor was made of multiple materials, including iron, copper, and leather. This is also unusual, as Rongjin noted that Han dynasty armor was generally composed of a single material. In fact, the scales are the only documented example of armor made of multiple materials from the Han Dynasty.

Ultimately, the armor represents a striking example of Han dynasty military equipment and reflects the excellent level of armor production that existed in the region at the time. Perhaps it even suggests that although Liu He fell from grace during his lifetime, he was buried with honors.