Measurement: L 10.25 in., W 7.5 in., H 4.125 in. During the Shang Dynasty more than 3000 years ago, people believed that tortoise was a symbol of fortune and was used to record important history or fortune telling. This particular tortoise shell was used to record an important incident during the Warring States (BC475-221). However, what was recorded was still a mistery because of the ancient Chinese scripts they used at that time were not able to interpret. Because silver was used as an inlay which gave an evidence that the history recorded must be very important. In this case, the shell and inscription were still left intact even after more than 2000 years was very rare . This tortoise species was believed to be extinct after these years. This was indeed a very important Warring States artifact before the First Emperor Qin unified Chinese characters.