After over 300 years buried in the soil of rural Maryland, a slab of metal emerged, tarnished and corroded. It presented a slightly concave form, akin to a cafeteria tray in size, initially appearing unremarkable.

However, archaeologists at Historic St. Mary’s City had a hunch about its identity, and an X-ray, revealing the object beneath the surface grime, confirmed their suspicions.

Unearthed late last year, the artifact turned out to be a rare 17th-century armor piece known as a tasset.

Designed to suspend from a breastplate, it served to shield one of the wearer’s thighs during battle, The Washington Post reported.

This discovery traces back to the early European colonists who, in the mid-1600s, established one of the earliest settlements in what would later become the United States.

Written by B.C. Begley