Master Archaeologist

Chapter 44 The Extreme of Huaxia Bronze Casting Technology-Qin Jian!
The process of extracting the contents of the coffin went smoothly.

The owner of tomb No. M-105 is not a nobleman after all.

And according to Kong Jianwen's inference, he should have died suddenly and was buried hastily.

Therefore, there were not many funeral objects in his coffin.

It is different from other tombs of nobles in the Western Han Dynasty, where the owner of the tomb is resplendent and resplendent, even with a jade pillow on his head and a jade mat on his body.

The owner of tomb No. M-105 was stuffed into the coffin wearing only silk clothes.

Moreover, due to the long-term immersion in water and the poor airtightness of the coffin, the remains of the owner of the tomb were basically decomposed.

After most of the water in the coffin was drained, except for some pieces of silk that hadn't completely rotted, no valuable cultural relics were found for the time being.

But everyone is not in a hurry.

Good things must sink at the bottom of the coffin.

Sure enough, when the accumulated water in the coffin was pumped down to only about four or five centimeters thick, in the pitch-black "black water", some metal objects began to appear vaguely.

"I see it! There's a sword!"

Wang Weida, with quick eyesight and quick hands, immediately stretched his hands into the coffin, and carefully lifted a bronze sword that was at least eighty or ninety centimeters long from the stagnant water!
"Fuck, bronze sword?!"

Chen Han's eyes widened, and he looked in shock at the sword that was still as smooth as new when it was fished out of the water. He was stunned!

This sword does not have the feeling of being buried in the ground for 2000 years!

Even because it was placed in stagnant water, when the sword is lifted out of the water, the blade can still reflect light!
Simply. It is as if it has just been cast!
Kong Jianwen also rushed up quickly, took the sword from Wang Weida's hand, and exclaimed again and again: "This is Qin Jian!"

"This is the pinnacle of Chinese bronze casting technology!"

Bronze sword, this is a weapon often used in ancient China, and it can also be said to be the earliest war weapon to be researched.

The history of Chinese bronze swords can be traced back to the Shang and Zhou dynasties, and they are the pinnacle of Chinese bronze weapon craftsmanship.

However, in the early Western Han Dynasty, with the maturity of iron smelting technology, iron swords gradually eliminated bronze swords and became the mainstream of the world.

By the end of the Western Han Dynasty, the process of steel weapons replacing bronze weapons had been completely completed.

Most of the bronze swords unearthed in archaeology are from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. The number of bronze swords unearthed in the Western Han Dynasty is very small.

Not to mention that the owner of tomb M-105 can be confirmed to have died at least after the time of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty.

After all, Zhaoming Mirror became popular only after Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty.

Before opening the coffin, no one thought that a Qin sword would be found in the tomb of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty!
When Emperor Xuan of the Han ascended the throne, 200 years had passed since the fall of Qin!

"The sword body is grayish yellow, with fine structure and no trachoma, and the surface of the sword body has been finely filed and polished!"

Kong Jianwen checked the sword back and forth carefully, and said with great satisfaction, "That's right, this is a Qin sword!"

"Moreover, it is a masterpiece of the most mature period of Qin Dynasty bronze sword casting!"

"In terms of appearance and standard, this sword is not much different from the bronze sword made in Qin Dynasty, but the specific ratio of copper and tin has to be sent to experts for appraisal."

Kong Jianwen pushed his glasses, and said with certainty: "However, I guess, this should be a bronze sword made in Qin Dynasty, and it may be the family heirloom sword of the owner of the tomb."

"Otherwise, it would be impossible to be immortal in water for 2000 years!"

"It is even less likely that it will be so precious that it will be put into the coffin and sleep with the owner of the tomb."

For a bronze sword to remain unrusted in the ground for more than 2000 years, it needs to meet many conditions.

First, it is best to be in a closed and hypoxic environment, either in a vacuum state, or like the King of Yue Goujian, soaked in groundwater for a long time and separated from the air.

Only in this way can oxidation be reduced, and less oxidation will naturally cause less rust.

Second, that is, the sword body must be protected against rust!
The most important reason why the Yue King Goujian sword has not rusted for 500 years is that the sword body is plated with a layer of chromium-containing metal!

When chromium is used in smelting metals, it has the characteristics of high strength, corrosion resistance, wear resistance, high temperature resistance, and oxidation resistance, which can protect utensils from rust!

In addition, there is another anti-rust measure in ancient China.

That is Qin Bronze Sword Chromium Salt Oxidation Protection Technology!
In the Bronze Age, whether a sword was good or not, and whether it was sharp or not, depended entirely on how much tin was added to the copper during smelting.

If there is too little tin, the sword will be too soft, but if there is too much tin, the sword will be too hard and will break easily.

How to master the ratio of copper and tin is a very test of smelting technology and level.

And also had a great influence on the size of the bronze sword.

When the bronze sword first appeared, the sword was only twenty or thirty centimeters long, and it was just a short sword.

Yuchang Sword, one of the top ten famous swords in Chinese history, is speculated to be a [-]cm short sword.

At that time, the reason why the sword was short was that due to the limitation of the sword casting process, it was impossible to make a bronze sword that was long, sharp and not easy to break.

In the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, with the advancement of bronze craftsmanship, the length of bronze swords generally reached about 50-60 cm.

In the late Warring States period, bronze swords could reach a length of 75 centimeters, and they were still very sharp and easy to use.

The Qin-style bronze sword is a major breakthrough in the field of bronze swords.

The Guanzhong Qin swords of the Qin Dynasty can generally reach 80 centimeters in length, and the longest one is even 95 centimeters!

Qin Jian's length, hardness and toughness have reached an almost perfect combination, which is the last pinnacle of bronze sword casting technology!
Qin Shihuang was able to unify the six countries, and this pinnacle of bronze sword craftsmanship contributed a lot to it.

You must know that Chu State was able to make iron swords at that time, and it was really made, but it did not stop Qin's army.

In most people's minds, iron swords are definitely easier to use than bronze swords, sharper and lighter.

Ironware represents advanced, while bronze represents backwardness.

But in fact, Iron Sword is not invincible from birth.

The early iron swords were really inferior to the peak bronze swords.

It took hundreds of years for the iron sword to completely surpass the bronze sword from its birth!

Qin's bronze sword was not only [-] centimeters longer than the swords of the six eastern countries at the same time, but it was also easier to stab the opponent first when the two armies were fighting.

Moreover, the sharpness of Qin's bronze sword is no less than that of the early iron sword!
The sharpness and hardness of the early iron swords were not comparable to the bronze swords of Qin State.

Qin's bronze smelting and forging technology was the best in China at that time, and it almost had a generational advantage over the bronze technology of other countries!
Not only because Qin Jian is sharp, but also because Qin Guo also mastered the technique of oxidizing bronze swords with chromium salts!
When the terracotta warriors and horses pit of Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum were unearthed, the chromium salt oxidation protection technology of the Qin bronze sword caused a sensation in the world!

The bronze sword unearthed from the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang has been buried in the ground for more than 2000 years. After removing the rust on the spot, the surface is still as bright as new. The blade is so sharp that a sword can cut through 12 layers of newspapers!
Relevant experts discovered the unearthed bronze swords, bronze spears and other weapons through electronic probe and proton X-ray fluorescence analysis.

The surface of the bronze sword has a protective layer of 10 to 15 microns of chromium oxide!
It is this oxide layer of chromium compounds with a thickness of only microns, which makes the bronze weapons have good anti-corrosion and anti-rust properties, so that they can still be as bright as new after being hidden underground for more than 2000 years!

And this chromium salt oxidation protection technology was invented and patented by Germans until 1937 in modern times, and it can only be done under a set of complicated industrial processes!
Even modern chromium salt oxidation protection technology can only keep stainless for about 60 years.

How the Qin people 2200 years ago were able to master the chromium salt oxidation treatment technology in such a primitive situation is still a mystery after the demise of the Qin State.

However, the swords cast by the people of Qin with the pinnacle of sword casting technology still exist in this world, telling their own legends to the world!
Let future generations of Chinese people be able to admire the incredible sword-making craftsmanship of the Qin people!
The one in front of Chen Han and the others, just fished out of the stagnant water in the coffin, is the pinnacle of Chinese bronze sword casting and a masterpiece of the most mature period!
　In fact, it is normal to open a coffin and clean it up for a month or two, but for novels, let's simplify it.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)