The remains of a gold mask lie among a huge cache of 3,000-year-old artifacts found at an archeological site in China’s Sichuan province.
The findings were made in Sanxingdui, an area of 4.6 square kilometers outside the provincial capital of Chengdu. Some experts say the articles could further illuminate the ancient Shu state, a kingdom that ruled in the western Sichuan Basin until it was conquered in 316 BC.
A bronze element recently unearthed from a sacrificial well at the Sanxingdui Archaeological Site. Credit: Li He / Xinhua / Sipa USA
More than 50,000 ancient artifacts have been found in Sanxingdui since the 1920s, when a local farmer accidentally found several relics at the site. Great progress was made in 1986 with the discovery of two ceremonial graves containing more than 1,000 items, including elaborate and well-preserved bronze masks.
A golden decoration was among more than 500 other items recently unearthed from the site. Credit: Brochure / Xinhua / Sipa USA
After a long hiatus in the excavations, a third well was found in late 2019, which led to the discovery of five more last year. Experts believe the graves were used for sacrificial purposes, explaining why many of the objects contained were ritually burned as they were left and buried.
Independent civilization
Sanxingdui is believed to have sat in the heart of the Shu state, which historians know relatively little about due to the scant written records. The discoveries made at the site date back to the 12th and 11th centuries BC, and many of the objects are now on display in a museum.
The site has revolutionized the understanding of experts on how civilization developed in ancient China. In particular, evidence of a unique Shu culture suggests that the kingdom developed independently of the neighboring societies of the Yellow River Valley, which was traditionally considered the cradle of Chinese civilization.
An archaeologist photographed working on one of the wells earlier this month. Credit: Shen Bohan / Sinhua / SipaUSA
Song Xinchao, deputy director of the National Cultural Heritage Administration, told Xinhua State News Agency that the latest findings “enrich and deepen our understanding of Sanxingdui culture.”
The discovery of silk fibers and remnants of fabrics can also broaden our understanding of Shu. Tang Fei, head of the excavation team and head of the Sichuan Cultural Relics and Cultural Archeology Research Institute, said at a news conference that the discovery indicates that the kingdom “was one of the important of silk in ancient China, “according to Xinhua. .
A bronze head and mask discovered in Sanxingdui in 1986, when the first sacrificial graves were found at the site. Credit: Shen Bohan / Xinhua / Sipa USA
Legend of the image above: a gold mask unearthed from a sacrificial well at the site of the ruins of Sanxingdui in the Chinese province of Sichuan.