Ancient But Still Shiny: 2,300-Year-Old Sword Found in China

A video out of China reveals a double-edge sword being pulled from its scabbard, and at a reported 2,300 years old, it is ancient— but in shiny condition.

First found in a tomb in the city of Xinyang, China, the straight bronze sword (a jian) is believed to be a relic of a time known as the Warring States period, which spanned 475-221 B.C. A state called Qin was triumphant.

The video shows blue-gloved researchers pulling the sword slowly from the scabbard and presenting it for the camera.

The sword is not the only discovery to come out of China recently. In Ganzhou, workers discovered— and nearly destroyed with dynamite— a new species of dinosaur dubbed the “Mud Dragon.” Those fossils make the newly-found sword seem like a find from only yesterday, as they date to about 66–72 million years in the past.