Unearthed ancient sword bears manufacture date

Archaeologists say an ancient sword recently unearthed in western Japan bears the date of manufacture.

Fukuoka City's board of education says the artifact was found on September 7th in an old stone tomb amongst ruins in the city.

The tomb is believed to have belonged to a powerful local clan. The 75-centimeter-long, steel-made sword is believed to be a grave furnishing.

An X-ray scan has found 19 Chinese characters inscribed on the back of the sword.

The characters say the sword was manufactured on the 6th day of the first month of A.D. 570, in the old Chinese calendar.

3 findings of swords from the Tumulus period bearing the year of their manufacture have been reported in Japan, but none with the exact date.

Kyushu University Professor Yasutoshi Sakaue called the latest finding a milestone as it is the first example of an archaeological find showing the full use of the calendar at that time in Japan.

He says historical records show the traditional calendar was brought to the country from the Korean Peninsula in A.D. 554, 16 years before the date recorded on the Fukuoka sword.