An Eastern Han Dynasty iron armor. [Photo/Tide News]

Li Longbin, director of the Shaoxing Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and head of the Jizhong site archaeological project, recently introduced the latest findings from the site, including a significant number of iron armor pieces identified as belonging to the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 AD).

Some of these iron armor pieces bore inscriptions. The clearest piece had the Chinese characters "Da ... Shi Fu" (Master ...), although the second character was worn away, making the full name of the craftsman unknown.

Li Longbin explained that "Da ... Shi Fu" likely refers to the craftsman who made the armor, indicating that nearly 2,000 years ago, there were already personalized armors. He inferred that the owner of the armor must have held a distinguished status.

Creating such armor at that time required advanced skills, and the craftsman capable of making and inscribing his name on the armor pieces must have had significant influence and professional standing.

The excavation site also yielded numerous tools, including iron pliers, files, hooks, and awls, clearly specialized for armor-making. The variety and quantity of these tools suggest that the armor was produced through collaborative efforts rather than by a single individual.

Additionally, the variety and number of armor pieces found were extensive, including helmet pieces and semi-finished components of armor sets. The pieces had regularly spaced holes, designed for stitching the armor together.

Li emphasized that the Jizhong site is the most significant high-level site discovered within ancient Shaoxing. It features the deepest stratified deposits, the densest building foundations, and the richest array of artifacts, providing crucial evidence of Shaoxing's role as a political, economic, and cultural center in southeastern China.