Pair of 6th-century treasured swords found in Japanese tomb

Archaeologists have found two rare swords in a 1,500-year-old underground tomb in southern Kyushu, Japan.

Two treasured swords found in an underground tomb in Kyushu, Japan. Photo: Shunsuke Nakamura.

Two swords were discovered along with two skeletons, armor, weapons, and saddles in a 6th-century tomb in the Shimauchi district of southern Kyushu, Ancient Origins reported yesterday.

After being retrieved from the grave, the swords were handed over to the Gangoji Cultural Heritage Research Institute in Nara for analysis and preservation. The long sword has a wooden pommel and a scabbard covered with a precious warp fabric called tate nishiki. It is 142 centimeters long, but researchers believe it was originally 150 centimeters long. It is the longest sword ever excavated from an ancient Japanese tomb. The team speculates that the sword was a gift from the Yamato Kingdom, which ruled ancient Yamato Province, now Nara Prefecture, from 250 to 710.

The second sword is about 85 centimeters long. The round handle is decorated with silver and the hilt is covered with stingray skin. According to Panam Leathers, Japan was one of the earliest countries to use stingray skin for sword hilts. The material was ideal because of its durability, fire resistance, puncture resistance, and water resistance. Japanese samurai often used stingray skin for sword hilts and armor. The team said the stingray skin sample on the sword is the oldest in East Asia.

The owner of the two swords was likely a respected and upper-class person. "The swords indicate that the owner was a powerful person in southern Kyushu, serving a higher-ranking official and a close retainer of the Yamato king," said Tatsuya Hashimoto, associate professor of archaeology at the Kagoshima University Museum.

According to Heritage of Japan, underground burial vaults were a form of burial during the Kofun period (250-538 AD) in Japanese history. The vaults could be stone chambers stacked on top of mounds or built under mounds with tunnels leading to them on the side. The internal structure of the tomb was simple, but the deceased was often buried with many valuables.

According to VNE