The Sword of Goujian, kept in the Hubei Provincial Museum, is one of the most remarkable archaeological objects in China — a Warring States-period bronze sword found in a tomb at Wangshan, near Jingzhou, in 1965. Despite spending two and a half millennia buried in damp clay, the blade emerged unrusted, the patterns inlaid into it still visible, and the cutting edge still razor-sharp.
Inscriptions on the blade identify it as belonging to King Goujian of Yue, the 5th-century BC ruler made famous in classical Chinese literature for his patience and persistence. The sword's preservation is thanks to an unusual alloy with high tin and trace lead, an airtight scabbard, and the anoxic conditions of the burial site. It is displayed in its own glass case at the museum.