Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of
Speaker 1: My Heart Radio. Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and
Speaker 1: this is the Artifact, a short form series from Stuff
Speaker 1: to Blow Your Mind, focusing in on particular objects, ideas,
Speaker 1: and moments in time. As we've discussed before on Stuff
Speaker 1: to Blow Your Mind, gold is a special element. Particles
Speaker 1: of gold can linger on a river bed for centuries
Speaker 1: and retain all their luster and beauty, and the same
Speaker 1: can be said for golden artifacts buried in the earth,
Speaker 1: but not so with other metal creations. Consider the sword.
Speaker 1: As instruments of war, they require strength and sharpness, so
Speaker 1: malleable gold is a poor choice of materials, and so
Speaker 1: swords tend to rust, whether dropped on the field of
Speaker 1: battle or buried in a stately tomb. In the film Conan,
Speaker 1: the Barbarian our muscular hero liberates a word from an
Speaker 1: ancient crypt and it's ready to use, sharp and unrusted,
Speaker 1: despite untold century stuck away in a tomb. We can
Speaker 1: forgive the film for this, since it deals with the
Speaker 1: world of magic, and perhaps it's Atlantean Smith's mastered arts
Speaker 1: that allowed it to endure. One of the closest things
Speaker 1: in real life however, is the sword of Gojin. Archaeologists
Speaker 1: believe this resplendent bronze weapon belonged to Gojin, who ruled
Speaker 1: the Kingdom of You from four to four sixty five
Speaker 1: b c. His ownership is identified in writing on the
Speaker 1: blade itself. When the king died, his sword was buried
Speaker 1: with him and remained there for more than two thousand years. Then,
Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty five, a team of archaeologists in Hubei
Speaker 1: Province unearthed the water logged tomb, and amid the many
Speaker 1: undisturbed artifacts, they found the sword. Suffice to say, a
Speaker 1: cone in the Barbarian would have been pleased because the
Speaker 1: sword of Gojin was remarkably well preserved. Not only was
Speaker 1: it largely untarnished, but it was sharp, reportedly able to
Speaker 1: cut through twenty pieces of hard paper. According to the
Speaker 1: Hubei Department of Culture, Again, this was no Atlantean magic sword,
Speaker 1: but a bronze blade. How had it survived so long
Speaker 1: in a flooded tomb. Part of it is the sword's composition.
Speaker 1: According to Chu lang Hu in a study published in
Speaker 1: Chinese Studies in the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology,
Speaker 1: the sword was smelted from tin bronze, and the pattern
Speaker 1: of decoration on the surface contains black copper sulfide. The
Speaker 1: tin and the weapon's edges helped it retain its sharpness,
Speaker 1: and the sulfur helped decreased tarnishing. More to the point, however,
Speaker 1: the sword passed the centuries in a sheath that was
Speaker 1: nearly air tight. It's just like if the Lady of
Speaker 1: the Lake stored Excalibur in a big ziploc bag before
Speaker 1: taking it with her into the depths. Tune in for
Speaker 1: additional editions of the artifact every week, hosted by either
Speaker 1: Joe or myself. As always, you can email us at
Speaker 1: contact at stuff to Blow your Mind dot com. Stuff
Speaker 1: to Blow Your Mind is production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: For more podcasts for my heart Radio, visit the iHeart
Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
Speaker 1: favorite shows.