China excavates 2,500-year-old sword in Jiangxi tomb

Chinese archaeologists have discovered an elaborately-made sword, which they believe is 2,500 to 2,600 years old, in an ancient tomb in the eastern province of Jiangxi.

"It is reckoned as the oldest ever excavated in the country," said Xu Changqing, chief of the excavation team.

The well-preserved sword, some 50 centimeters long, is black, gold and bright red. "A dragon pattern was carved on both ends of the scabbard, and the middle part of the scabbard was decorated with two rows of a W-shaped design," said Xu.