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China's earliest tinned iron armor found in Zhejiang: 1,700-year-old anti-rust tech revealed_我的网站

霍去病

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A number of tinned iron armor plates excavated from the Jizhong site Photo: Courtesy of the Shaoxing Institute of Cultural Relics and ArchaeologyArchaeologists at the Jizhong ruins site in Shaoxing, East China's Zhejiang Province, recently unearthed a large number of tinned iron armor plates and semi-finished pieces dating to the Wu period of the Three Kingdoms (222-280), according to the Shaoxing Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. These discoveries represent the earliest known tinned iron artifacts in China to date, as well as the earliest tinned iron production remains found anywhere in the world, proving that an organized, systematic craft industry for tin-plated ironwork existed at that time.
While China has a long history of making tinned bronze and tinware, there has long been a lack of reliable historical records or physical evidence to prove early local production of tinned iron artifacts. The newly discovered armor plates can fill this gap, demonstrating that, by no later than the Wu period, local craftspeople in Zhejiang Province had mastered the art of tin-plating iron surfaces. This reflects the region's advanced metallurgical skills at that time, Ge Shuaikun, a researcher at the Shaoxing Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
Over the last three years, archaeologists working at the Jizhong ruins site have excavated hundreds of tinned iron armor plates from ancient wells and ash pits. A preliminary investigation confirmed that the surfaces of these plates contain high levels of tin. Subsequent laboratory analyses were conducted in collaboration with the Shaoxing's institute and the Institute for Cultural Heritage and History of Science & Technology at the University of Science and Technology Beijing with methods such as Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), and Micro-CT to deeply examine the samples' materials, structures, and technological traces.
Photo: Courtesy of the Shaoxing Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology

Photo: Courtesy of the Shaoxing Institute of Cultural Relics and ArchaeologyAccording to Ge, tin is a non-toxic metal with a low melting point, excellent corrosion resistance, and a silvery sheen. Tin plating effectively prevents rust, making iron armor far more durable and indeed, even after being buried for 1,700 years, many of these tinned plates retain their silvery metallic shine.
Research shows that the craftspeople immersed iron armor plates in molten tin, thus ensuring complete coverage of the surface with a continuous tinned layer. This coating isolated the iron from exposure to air and moisture, dramatically boosting corrosion resistance. Many of the excavated tinned armor pieces still show a clear, bright silver-white finish.
One major reason for tin-plating the armor was to prevent rust. At the same time, the silvery white shine of tinned iron offered a more striking, beautiful appearance, standing out from the typical dark iron armor of the era. This visual distinction may have marked these pieces as a higher-grade military asset, according to an article from the University of Science and Technology Beijing's official website.
The article said that in earlier eras, from the pre-Qin to Han dynasties, tin was widely used as a surface coating on bronzeware and ceramics. Researchers believe the tin-plating of iron armor discovered at the Jizhong ruins site during the Wu period of Three Kingdoms built upon this local tin-coating tradition, representing an adaptation of those techniques across different materials. The process likely benefited from technological exchange among various specialized workshops at the site, including those making bronze castings, iron weapons, and other metallurgical products.
。 8月26日讯尤文门将佩林将转会巴勒莫，佩林社交媒体上发文与尤文告别。“有些地方，你只是匆匆路过。而有些地方，当你途经时，却会改变你这个人。

二 | 对我来说，尤文就是这样的地方。如今回首往事，我意识到，现在的我，有一部分是在这几年里逐渐塑造的。

三 | 因为时间的价值，不在于踢过的比赛、取得的胜利或赢得的奖杯。而在于遇见的人、那些等待的时光、那些沉默的瞬间、那些学会接受的失落，以及那些从内心深处找到重新开始力量的时刻。我学会了即使不总是站在聚光灯下，也能发挥重要作用。我明白了归属于一个集体，有时意味着要暂时放下自我。

四 | 我领悟到忠诚无需言说，因为它存在于无人注视时你所做的选择之中。身披这件球衣，我经历了职业生涯中最美好的情感时刻，也经历了艰难的时刻。而今天，我同样对那些逆境心怀感激。

五 | 因为正是那些时刻迫使我真正认识了自己，我遇到了伟大的冠军球员，但更重要的是，他们首先是鲜活而真实的人，我与他们分享的远不止更衣室，还有日复一日的相伴、重压之下的支撑、开怀的笑声、失利的苦涩、胜利的喜悦、内心的恐惧，以及不曾熄灭的梦想。致所有每天为尤文默默付出、远离众人视线的人们，谢谢你们。有些举动、话语和关怀，在当时或许看似微不足道，但直到告别之际，你才会发现它们是如此厚重而深远。而对球迷们，我只想简单地说一句，我始终努力让自己配得上身上这件球衣，我不知道自己是否一直做到这点，但我确信自己每一天都对它心怀敬意。现在是时候离开了。