Master Archaeologist

Chapter 45 Family Heirloom
Never expected that a top-level bronze sword from the Qin Empire would be found in the tomb of an ordinary Western Han nobleman.

You must know that even in the peak period of the Qin State, there were very few bronze swords that could use the chromium salt oxidation protection technology.

The total number of bronze weapons unearthed from the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang has exceeded 2000.

However, only 9 of the swords are relatively well preserved, and the rest of the daggers, long swords, long swords, etc. have been rotten.

Among the nine relatively well-preserved bronze swords, only five or six were coated with a protective layer of chromium oxide.

The remaining few are because of the good airtightness when buried in the ground, and the total coincidence, so there is no decay.

It can be seen that the chromium salt oxidation protection technology is definitely not a popular technology in Qin State.

Perhaps it was an advanced technology unintentionally researched by a master swordsmith who transcended the limitations of the times.

It may not even be replicable, so only a batch of swords were made, and they have never been successfully made again.

Otherwise, if the Qin State really mastered this technology, as a warlike and warlike country, how could it be possible to only make a few as Qin Shihuang's funerary playthings instead of mass-producing them for the army.

There is no need to think about and worry about what costs and what does not cost.

As long as it can be produced in batches, no matter how high the cost is, it can be used for the most elite troops, or even rewarded for use by high-ranking generals.

But in fact, this kind of bronze sword with a protective layer of chromium oxide was only unearthed once in the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang, and it has never been seen since then.

Therefore, after Kong Jianwen was excited for a while, he calmed down quickly.

"Whether this sword is a special Qin-made bronze sword is hard to say. Maybe it is stainless because it has been soaked in groundwater for a long time and lacks the oxidation process."

"For the specific situation, we still need to contact the relevant inspection department as soon as possible, and send it to the laboratory for detailed inspection to find out the real reason why the sword is not rusty."

Kong Jianwen spoke conservatively, but couldn't hide a smile on his face, his old face was full of wrinkles.

Regardless of whether this is the kind of Qin sword unearthed from the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang, it must be a 2000-year-old stainless rare treasure that has not escaped!

Even if this sword is not well-known, it cannot become the treasure of the country like the Yue King Goujian sword.

But the fact that it is stainless for 2000 years is enough for researchers to study.

Chen Han shook his head regretfully: "Hey, it's a pity that there is no inscription on the sword body. If there is an inscription, the research value will be even higher."

The reason why King Goujian of Yue is a national treasure is because there is such a line of inscriptions on the sword.

"King Jiu (hook) Qian (practice) uses his own sword."

It was this sentence that turned this sword from a simple 500-year-old stainless sword into "the best sword in the world"!
It was even once hidden but not displayed, and it was strictly protected, and it was regarded as a national treasure among national treasures.

"It's a coincidence that the Yue King Goujian sword was also unearthed in Jingzhou. There are so many swords in Chu!" Zhuang Yunpeng agreed with some sighs.

Hearing that the two little guys still felt sorry, Kong Jianwen couldn't laugh or cry: "Your ambitions are not ordinary!"

"It's amazing enough to have such a stainless sword in the tomb of a small nobleman in the Western Han Dynasty. Do you still expect to have an inscription?"

"Young man, don't be incompetent and swallow elephants."

There is no inscription on this sword, but it seems normal to Kong Jianwen.

If this is a sword made by the owner of the tomb himself, it is possible to leave some inscriptions on the sword.

For example, "So-and-so uses his own sword", which is equivalent to branding the sword with his own brand.

But since this is a bronze sword made in Qin Dynasty, and it was collected by a small nobleman, it is unlikely to have an inscription.

It's not that Qin Jian doesn't engrave inscriptions.

It's just that the kind of Qin Jian with engraved inscriptions is obviously not something the owner of the tomb can get his hands on.

It has been 200 years since the Qin Dynasty was separated from the period of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty.

Handed down from the Qin Dynasty, swords with inscriptions must have been very rare at that time, and they were all rare treasures at that time.

That is a cultural relic that only the great nobles can collect and play with.

A small nobleman with one coffin and one coffin can't be touched.

"It is estimated that this bronze sword made in Qin Dynasty should have been passed down by the owner of the tomb."

Kong Jianwen pushed his glasses and started his reasoning again.

"It may be that the ancestor of the owner of the tomb was a small general of the Qin State, and later followed Liu Bang to establish the Han Dynasty and became a small and medium-sized nobleman in the Han Dynasty."

"This sword is the saber of the founder of the family. After his death, this sword was passed down as a family token from generation to generation."

"Until it was passed down to the owner of the tomb, the owner of the tomb died early due to some acute illness or accident, and their family became extinct because of this, so this sword was also buried with the owner of the tomb."

Kong Jianwen is not guessing randomly, his guess is well-founded.

The Western Han Dynasty was a dynasty that paid more attention to martial arts. The aristocratic class in the Western Han Dynasty can be said to be all military meritorious classes.

Whether it is the founder of the country or the later Emperor Wu, they all became nobles by virtue of their military exploits.

In the Western Han Dynasty, the military group has always been a huge group that controlled the court and politics of the Western Han Dynasty.

How else can we say that the country perishes with the weak, but the Han alone perishes with the strong?

The nobles of the Han Dynasty were all very martial. They could lead the army when they got on their horses, and rule the people when they got off their horses.

This tradition even continued to the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and all the princes at the end of the Han Dynasty were also good hands in leading the army and governing the people.

Therefore, in the Western Han Dynasty, it is quite understandable that the nobles used some weapons as family heirlooms.

Warn future generations not to forget bravery, not to forget martial arts!

The disciples of the Eight Banners of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties who were not counted as military groups, when the Eight-Nation Allied Forces entered BJ, they could still dig out the weapons and armor of their ancestors when they entered the customs with Dorgon, and even the firecrackers they used at that time were still there.

What's more, how can the serious nobles of the Western Han Dynasty not have a few precious weapon heirlooms?
Combined with the fact that this bronze bureau was made in the Qin Dynasty rather than the Han Dynasty, it can obviously be preserved until the time of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty. There is no other explanation except for the family heirloom.

And it makes sense for heirlooms to appear in burials, too.

The owner of the tomb seemed to have died suddenly, and he should be relatively young.

It is very likely that the death was too sudden, and before there was time to leave offspring, the heir became extinct.

Now that the heir is extinct, if you don't take the family heirloom left by your ancestors underground, who else will you leave it to?

That's why this Qin-made bronze sword can appear in the tomb of a Western Han nobleman who died at least after the time of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty.

As soon as Kong Jianwen's deduction came out, Chen Han felt pity.

The tomb owner is really miserable.

He died young and his family became extinct. After his death, his wife has not been buried with him.

Just like that, he was buried deep in the ground alone with the sword representing the family inheritance.

An aristocratic family that had lasted for 200 years died out.

(End of this chapter)