Gold mask between 3,000-year-old relics discovered in southwest China

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Written by Oscar Holland, CNN

Collaborators Shawn Deng, CNN

According to the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Heritage Administration, a gold mask dating back more than 3,000 years is found among hundreds of relics discovered from a series of sacrificial graves in southwest China.

The finds were made in Sanxingdui, a 4.6-square-kilometer archeological site outside Chengdu that has produced thousands of ancient artifacts since a local farmer stumbled upon it in the 1920s.

The golden mask, which was unveiled in June but first introduced this month, weighs about 100 grams and is said to have formed part of a bronze head larger than an independent object, according to the state news agency. Xinhua. It is believed to have come from the last Shang dynasty, which ended in 1046 BC.
A bronze animal sculpture recently unearthed in Sanxingdui.

A bronze animal sculpture recently unearthed in Sanxingdui. Credit: VCG / Getty Images

According to Chinese state media, the artifact is one of about 500 items discovered in recent months. Ivory relics were also one of the discoveries, as were a jade knife, a ceremonial vessel known as a “zun,” and several bronze figurines.

Archaeologists made a breakthrough in Sanxingdui in the mid-1980s, when they found two ceremonial graves containing more than 1,000 items, including elaborate and well-preserved bronze masks.

After a long pause in excavations, a third well was found in late 2019, which led to the discovery of five more in 2020. In March this year, authorities unveiled a previous cache of more than 500 items, including another gold mask and a bronze vase with owl-shaped drawings.
An archaeologist working in one of the sacrifice pits.

An archaeologist working in one of the sacrifice pits. Credit: CHINA NEW / SIPA / Shutterstock

Many of the objects appear to have been ritually burned before being buried, which led experts to believe that the graves were used for sacrificial purposes.

Sanxingdui is believed to have settled in the heart of Shu State, a kingdom that ruled in the western Sichuan Basin until its conquest in 316 BC. Findings at the site have provided evidence of a unique Shu culture, suggesting that the kingdom developed independently of other societies in the Yellow River Valley, which is traditionally considered the cradle of Chinese civilization. Silk fibers and remnants of fabrics have also been found in the pits.

“The new discoveries show once again that the imagination and creativity of the ancient Chinese far exceeded what people had expected today,” Tang Fei, head of the Cultural Relics and Archeology Research Institute, told Xinhua. Sichuan Province.
A bronze mask discovered in one of the eight sacrifice pits discovered at the Sanxingdui ruins site.

A bronze mask discovered in one of the eight sacrifice pits discovered at the site of the Sanxingdui ruins. Credit: CHINA NEW / SIPA / Shutterstock

Many of the objects unearthed in Sanxingdui are now on display in an on-site museum, although excavation of two of the wells is still ongoing.

Although not yet recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, Sanxingdui is on the organization’s “provisional list” for future consideration. It is, along with other Shu archeological sites, described by the UN agency as “a prominent representative of the Bronze Age civilization of China, East Asia and even the world.”

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