3,000-year-old gold mask found 0:53
(CNN) -
The remains of a gold mask are among a huge batch of 3,000-year-old artifacts found at an archaeological site in China's Sichuan province.
The ceremonial mask weighs approximately 280 grams and is estimated to be made from 84% gold.
It is one of more than 500 items unearthed from six newly discovered "sacrificial pits", according to the National Administration of Cultural Heritage of China.
The finds were made in Sanxingdui, an area of about 120 square kilometers on the outskirts of the provincial capital of Chengdu.
Some experts say the articles may shed more light on the ancient state of Shu, a kingdom that ruled in the western Sichuan Basin until it was conquered in 316 BC.
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Bronze item recently unearthed from a sacrificial pit at the Sanxingdui archaeological site. (Credit: Li He / Xinhua / Sipa USA)
In addition to the gold mask, archaeologists discovered bronzes, gold leaf, and artifacts made from ivory, jade, and bone.
The six sites, of which the largest has a footprint of 19 square meters, also produced a still unopened wooden box and a bronze vessel with an owl-shaped pattern.
More than 50,000 ancient artifacts have been found at Sanxingdui since the 1920s, when a local farmer accidentally found several relics at the site.
A major breakthrough came in 1986, with the discovery of two ceremonial wells containing more than 1,000 items, including elaborate and well-preserved bronze masks.
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A gold decoration was one of more than 500 items recently unearthed from the site. (Credit: Handout / Xinhua / Sipa USA)
After a long pause in excavations, a third site was found in late 2019, leading to the discovery of another five last year.
Experts believe that the pits were used for sacrificial purposes, which explains why many of the items they contained were ritually burned while being dropped and buried.
Independent civilization
Sanxingdui is believed to have sat in the heart of the Shu state, of which historians know relatively little due to scant written records.
Discoveries made at the site date back to the 12th and 11th centuries BC.
C., and many of the items are now displayed in a museum on the site.
The site has revolutionized experts' understanding of how civilization developed in ancient China.
In particular, evidence for a unique Shu culture suggests that the kingdom developed independently of neighboring societies in the Yellow River Valley, which was traditionally considered the cradle of Chinese civilization.
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An archaeologist works at one of the sites in early March 2021. (Credit: Shen Bohan / Sinhua / SipaUSA)
The deputy director of the National Administration of Cultural Heritage, Song Xinchao, told the state news agency Xinhua that the latest findings "enrich and deepen our understanding of Sanxingdui culture."
The discovery of silk fibers and textile scraps can also broaden our understanding of Shu.
The head of the excavation team and head of the Sichuan Provincial Research Institute of Archeology and Cultural Relics, Tang Fei, told a news conference that the discovery indicates that the kingdom "was one of the important origins of silk in ancient China, "according to Xinhua.
A bronze head and mask discovered at Sanxingdui in 1986, when the first sacrificial pits were found at the site. (Credit: Shen Bohan / Xinhua / Sipa USA)
Although not yet recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Sanxingdui is on the organization's "tentative list" for possible future inclusion.
Along with other archaeological sites of Shu, the UN agency credits him as "an outstanding representative of the Bronze Age civilization of China, East Asia and even the world."
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