NEW FINDINGS
A bronze box with a green jade ware inside, which was discovered in the No.7 pit, is a highlight among the newly found artifacts. The top and bottom of the vessel are covered with tortoise-shaped reticulate lids, and the sides of the box are adorned with a bronze hinge, handles shaped as dragon heads and a few bronze streamers. Microtrace analysis revealed that the box was wrapped in silk, according to the archaeologists.
Photo taken on June 1, 2022 shows a bronze box with a green jade ware inside excavated from the No.7 sacrificial pit at Sanxingdui Ruins site in southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Xinhua/Shen Bohan)
"It would not be an exaggeration to say that the vessel is one of its kind, given its distinctive shape, fine craftsmanship and ingenious design. Although we do not know what this vessel was used for, we can assume that ancient people treasured it," said Li Haichao, a professor at Sichuan University who is in charge of the excavation at No.7 pit.
Jade wares and bronze decorations, figurines and bells were also found in the pit.
In the adjacent No.8 pit, archaeologists unearthed a variety of artifacts including bronze heads with gold masks, a bronze altar, a giant mythical creature made of bronze and a dragon-shaped bronze item with a pig nose.
Another sophisticated sculpture in the No. 8 pit also excited archaeologists. It is divided into three parts. The middle part is a figure of a human head and snake body, with protruding eyes, tusks and horns. The upper part of the head is a cinnabar trumpet-shaped zun (an ancient wine vessel). The lower part is linked by the figure's hands and a square pedestal urn-shaped lei (an ancient wine vessel).
Photo taken on June 1, 2022 shows part of a bronze sculpture with a human head and snake body excavated from the No.8 sacrificial pit at Sanxingdui Ruins site in southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)
Around the pits, archaeologists also found ash ditches, architectural foundations and small sacrificial pits, and cultural relics, as well as bamboo, reeds, soybeans, and cattle and boars that may have been sacrificed.
