Yanghai leather scale armor

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The Neo-Assyrian Empire where the leathered scaled armor piece was made and sold to China.

The Yanghai leather scale armor is a piece of assyrian styled leather armor that was dated to be from the years 786-543 BCE in northwest China and was manufactured in the neo-assyrian empire. The leathered armor is made up of 5,444 smaller scales with 140 large scales making the total weight of the Yanghai leather scale armor to be 4-5 kg.[1] It was found in 2013 on a possible 30 year old horse rider at the Yanghai cemetery (Subeshi culture).[2] The armor was a type of scaled armor and is unique due to it being the only complete scale armor of any material. A hypothesis for why this survived for 2,700 year is because the arid climate prevented it from rotting away.[3] The Yanghai leather scale armor was made from small shield-shaped plates organized in horizontal rows and sewn onto a backing. Because of the expensive supplies, material and laborious manufacturing, armors had been treasured and carrying them was considered a privilege of the elite. It was uncommon for the Neo-Assyrian Empire to be buried with the proprietor.[2]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Archaeologists Find 2,700-Year-Old Assyrian-Style Leather Armor in China". Breaking Science News | Sci-News.com. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  2. ^ a b "2,700-year-old armor shows tech moved across the ancient world". The Hack Posts. 2021-12-09. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  3. ^ "Ancient Assyrian Armor Found In China Proves Technology Transfer Is Older Than We Realize". IFLScience. Retrieved 2021-12-10.