Archaeologists have unearthed an oversized ceremonial iron sword and a bronze mirror shaped like a shield from a 1,600-year-old burial mound in Nara, Japan. The massive 7-foot-long sword is believed to have been used to protect the dead from evil spirits. The 124-pound mirror is also believed to ward away evil. Taken together, they indicate that the person with whom they were buried had military or ritualistic importance.
Known as a dakō sword, the blade has a distinctive wavy shape, which the makers believed would imbue the sword with greater protective powers.
Should we have dug these up? What spirts were the items guarding against and what happens now?
