Archaeologists in northwest China's Shaanxi Province said Sunday that one piece of thigh armor and two pieces of upper-body armor dating back 3,000 years may be the oldest pieces of bronze armor ever unearthed in China.

A piece of thigh armor is found from a tomb of the West Zhou Dynasty (1046-771 BC), in Baoji city, Shaanxi province, March 10, 2013. [Photo/Xinhua]

The announcement was made after experts studied the artifacts retrieved from the tomb of a nobleman from the West Zhou Dynasty (1046 BC - 771 BC) in Shigushan Mountain of Baoji City.

Liu Junshe, head of the excavation team, said the discovery filled in a blank in China's early military history, as excavations of pieces of armor forged during or prior to the Qin Dynasty (221 BC - 206 BC) have been rare.

"The material of the 'armor' on the famed Terra Cotta Warriors has long been a mystery, but the pieces of armor found this time were forged hundreds of years prior to the Qin Dynasty-era underground army," Liu said.

Liu said the cuisse, or piece of thigh armor, was 29 cm in length and tube-shaped, while the two cuirass pieces, or upper-body armor pieces, measured 23.5 by 10 cm and 40 by 21 cm. Both had mortises to connect to each other or with the leather parts of the armor.

A bounty of bronze weaponry, wine vessels and other sacrificial objects were also unearthed along with the pieces of armor, suggesting that the tomb owner had been a high-ranking aristocrat and general.

The tomb cluster in Shigushan Mountain was discovered last year by some local farmers. Archaeologists found a wine vessel in another tomb. After being excavated, it was found to contain the oldest wine ever found in China.

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