The sword is severely rusted and broken in the middle, and didn't grab the attention of archeologists when it was unearthed. But chemical tests stunned them: the sword was made of iron.

Previously, it was generally agreed that Chinese learned to smelt iron around the fifth century BC in the Warring States Period (475-220BC), but this sword was made more than one hundred years earlier.

Jade ware was another important find. A necklace-like item made of 374 different jade pieces was used as a symbol of the monarch's identity. It has a series of jade pieces in special shapes, and even experienced experts were confused about its function. After long comparisons, they finally figured out that the jade plates were in the shapes of eyebrows, eyes, ears, cheeks, jaws, beard, and hair, forming a jade mask to cover the tomb owner's face. Experts consider it to be the forerunner of the jade clothes sewn with gold threads popular in the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-24AD).

Other treasures found include a 12 piece 400g golden belt tied around the waist of the buried man. After two thousand years, it was still glittering.

But that wasn't all. A even bigger surprise lay ahead. Another tomb similar in structure but larger in scale was found about 50 m east of the No. 1 Tomb. Fortunately, this tomb was not disturbed by robbers. This tomb revealed double the number of relics found in the No. 1 Tomb, and a large amount of bronze ware indicated the tomb owner was Guo Zhong, a Guo State monarch who once helped Emperor Zhou to administer the country.

What is the relationship between Guo Zhong and Guo Ji? Were they father and son or brothers? This is still a mystery because of a lack of written records. But one thing is certain: the Guo State in Guo Zhong's time was very prosperous - more so than in Guo Ji's time.

Seven hundred and twenty four finely made jade objects were also found. The most eye-catching works are little jade animals, which are both realistic and imaginative, unlike the pure ritual jade works of previous ages.

 Capital

Over more than 40 years, more than 20,000 relics from the tombs of two kings, one empress, two princes, a dozen noblemen, four noble women, and a number of civilian graves were found. The number and degree of preservation of the items found in the state tombs discovered is second to none.

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