Yanghai leather scale armor
The Yanghai leather scale armor is a piece of assyrian styled leather armor that was dated to be from the years 786-543 BCE in northwest China and was manufactured in the neo-assyrian empire. The leathered armor is made up of 5,444 smaller scales with 140 large scales making the total weight of the Yanghai leather scale armor to be 4–5 kg. It was found in 2013 on a possible 30 year old horse rider at the Yanghai cemetery. The armor was a type of scaled armor and is unique due to it being the only complete scale armor of any material. A hypothesis for why this survived for 2,700 year is because the arid climate prevented it from rotting away. The Yanghai leather scale armor was made from small shield-shaped plates organized in horizontal rows and sewn onto a backing. Because of the expensive supplies, material and laborious manufacturing, armors had been treasured and carrying them was considered a privilege of the elite. It was uncommon for the Neo-Assyrian Empire to be buried with the proprietor.