The
Sword of Goujian is an archaeological artifact of theSpring and Autumn
period (771 to 403BC) found in 1965 in Hubei, China. Forged of copper
and tin, it is renowned for its unusual sharpness and resistance to
tarnish rarely seen in artifacts so old.
This historical artifact of ancient China is currently in the possession of the Hubei Provincial Museum.
In
1965, an archaeological survey was being performed along the second
main aqueduct of the Zhang River Reservoir in Jingzhou, Hubei, more than
fifty ancient tombs of theChu State were found in Jiangling County. The
dig started in the middle of October 1965 and ended in January 1966.
More
than 2,000 artifacts were recovered from the sites, including a bronze
sword. In December 1965, 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) from the ruins of Jinan,
an ancient capital of Chu, a casket was discovered at Wangshan site #1.
Inside, an ornate bronze sword was found with a human skeleton.