Boy discovers ancient sword in river
Print Edition
A RUSTY sword found by a young boy in a river in east China’s Jiangsu Province has been identified as an ancient bronze relic, dating back about 3,000 years.
The amazing discovery was made on July 2 by 11-year-old Yang Junxi, while he was playing near the Laozhoulin River in Linze Township, Gaoyou County.
Unsure about what he’d found, Yang took the sword home to his father Yang Jinhai. The discovery brought the family a lot of attention.
“Some people offered me a lot of money for the sword, but I felt it would be wrong to sell a cultural relic,” the elder Yang said.
After considering his options, on Wednesday, Yang sent the sword to the Gaoyou Cultural Relics Bureau to be assessed.
The bureau arranged for a team of experts to examine the 26-centimeter-long sword, and determined it probably dated back about 3,000 years, to about the time of the Shang and Zhou dynasties (16th century-770BC), said Lu Zhiwei, head of the bureau’s cultural relics office.
“It seems the sword was a status symbol for a civil official,” Lu said.
“It has both decorative and practical functions, but not the shape of a military sword,” he said.
The discovery of the sword might be a result of the recent dredging undertaken in the Laozhoulin, Lu said, adding that the local government is preparing to stage an archeological dig to see if more treasures can be unearthed.
In the meantime, the relics bureau sent collection certificates to the Yangs in thanks for finding and donating the relic.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
