Bronze mirror mold found in Japan

A fragment of an ancient mold used to produce bronze mirrors that was found here predates any other artifacts linked to mirror production in Japan by up to 200 years.

The mold fragment dates to around 200 B.C. and was found during an archaeological dig at the Sugu Takauta ruins in Kasuga, the city’s board of education announced May 27.

The mold was apparently used to produce bronze mirrors known as Tachukyo (mirror with knobs) during the first half of the middle Yayoi Pottery Culture (300 B.C.-A.D. 300).

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Story: Shunsuke Nakamura, Asahi Shimbun | Photo: Shunsuke Nakamura