This file photo shows steel acupuncture needles and a jade tube discovered in the famed tomb of the Marquis of Haihun. (Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology/Handout via Xinhua)

?China's earliest known steel acupuncture needles have been discovered in the famed tomb of the Marquis of Haihun in east China's Jiangxi Province, according to the provincial cultural relics and archaeological institute.

The needles, expertly crafted using sophisticated puddling steel technology, date back over 2,000 years to the Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD). They were unearthed from a jade tube inside a gold-foiled lacquer box. However, the burial conditions had left the medical needles severely corroded and fragmented.

"At least five needle-like objects were visible within the tube's cross-section," said Yang Jun, head of the tomb's excavation team.

Each needle measures 0.3 to 0.5 millimeters in diameter. Yang noted that they were likely wrapped in cloth prior to being placed in the jade tube, a practice that ensured both hygiene and ease of handling.

"This is unequivocally a medical instrument," said Wang Chuning, a doctoral researcher of Peking University. "Its fineness approaches the diameter of needles used in modern acupuncture."

Researchers highlighted the clinical advantages of steel over other materials such as iron, gold and silver.

Gu Man, with the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, said the needles are believed to be the earliest steel medical acupuncture needles discovered in China to date, serving as crucial evidence for the history of steel metallurgy and ancient Chinese medicine during the Western Han Dynasty.

This file photo shows steel acupuncture needles inside a jade tube discovered in the famed tomb of the Marquis of Haihun. (Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology/Handout via Xinhua)