The restoration simulating a gold-plated bronze armor from the Tang Dynasty (618-907) - the only of its kind in China - is among a series of breakthrough achievements in archeology and cultural preservation announced by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) on January 14.
After 4 years of efforts to preserve and restore, the gold-plated bronze armor - one of the antiques excavated from the ancient tomb of Xuewei No. 1 in Dulan district, Qinghai province, northwest China and the only gold-plated Tang Dynasty armor remaining in China - has been restored to show the ritual style of the So You Hon Kingdom during the Tang Dynasty.
The key laboratory for Archaeological Science and Cultural Heritage under CASS said that along with the gold-plated bronze armor, a lacquered horse armor from the Tang Dynasty was also restored.
According to experts, the restoration provides detailed and reliable data to better understand the funeral rituals, exchanges and national integration, as well as production techniques on the Qinghai plateau - Tibet.
Ancient tomb in Thanh Hai is about 1,300 years old. When excavated, the tomb had a messy collection of pieces of copper armor and lacquered horse armor without clear structural relationships, each piece was at risk of breaking when touched.
The successful restoration of armor sets has strengthened the technical framework and research methods for archaeology in the laboratory in the future, and also changed the working thinking of field archaeologists.
A lacquer tray excavated from the ancient tomb of Xuewei, once used to store grapes, has been scientifically analyzed and confirmed to be made using high-class gold and silver crafting techniques of the Tang Dynasty.
