10.04.2018
Changsha, March 18 / Xinhua/ – An unusually shaped bead was discovered in a tomb dating from the Zhanguo era (Warring States, 475-221 BC), which indicates early cultural exchanges between China and the West.
The bead is 3.1 cm in size and weighs 38.4 grams, has several horns decorated with concentric rings, the Institute of Archeology of the prov reported. Hunan /Central China/. “The blue-white bead is incomplete, only seven horns have been preserved around its base, which makes it look like a dragonfly’s eye,” said Xi Peishen, an employee of the institute. The bead was discovered in a tomb complex in Zhongfang County, prov. Hunan in 2017.
Since the beginning of excavations in 2012, about 200 tombs from the period between the Zhanguo era and the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-25 AD) have been found here. Xi Peishen noted that the found bead is made of lead-barium glass, which is atypical for China at that time, and the shape of the horned eye was a rare discovery. “Eye-shaped beads have been used to decorate clothing, furniture and accessories in China,” he said.
They were first discovered in regions such as Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia and India, and were brought to China during the Chunqiu /Spring and Autumn eras, 770-476 BC/ and Zhanguo. The Chinese people have improved the technique of making glass, using barium and lead in order to make such beads.
“The discovery is a new proof that East Asia had close cultural and technological exchanges with West Asia, North Africa and India thousands of years ago,” Xi Peishen stressed.
During last year’s excavations, archaeologists also discovered more than 170 other cultural treasures, including ceramics, bronze swords and a bronze dagger.
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