Artifacts from the Bronze Age continue to be found in Guanghan

Excavations in the Chinese city of Guanghan, which began in 2020, continue to bring surprises. Recently, artifacts from the Sanxingdui period, the Bronze Age, were found in two pits intended for sacrificial offerings. Of particular interest is the bronze altar, as well as the bronze sculpture. Over the past two years, archaeologists have unearthed over 13,000 objects made of bronze, gold, jade and ivory. Most of them are badly damaged, apparently, they were deliberately smashed and burned before burial. Only 2.4 thousand artifacts survived completely. The researchers plan to recreate these objects and conduct a series of experiments: destroy copies in various ways in order to better understand the process of sacrifices during the Sanxingdui period.

The found bronze altar consists of several parts: a platform and an upper part mounted on it, on which a scene of sacrifice is depicted. Both fragments lay separately and were picked up quite recently, on June 11 and 12. As for the bronze sculpture, it also consists of several parts connected into a single whole. In the center is an anthropomorphic head with bulging eyes and tusks. The body in the form of a snake is characteristic of the Shu culture (Shǔ), which existed in the 11th-4th centuries. BC e.

Another interesting artifact is a bronze box with a lattice lid. It contained a large piece of jade. After a thorough analysis, scientists came to the conclusion that the box was once wrapped in silk. These and other finds will be donated to a new museum soon to be built in Guanghan, as there is not enough space in the old building to house the rapidly growing collection.