Guanghan City, Sichuan Province, southwest China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. No. 8 sacrificial pit at Sanxingdui Ruins
2. Various of bronze altar discovered at No.8 sacrificial pit
3. Various of kneeling bronze figures at cultural relics conservation, restoration center at Sanxingdui Museum

FILE: Guanghan City, Sichuan Province, southwest China - April 11-12, 2021 (Sichuan Radio and Television - No access Chinese mainland)
4. Archaeologists working at No.3 sacrificial pit
5. Various of archaeologists clearing earth off round-mouth rectangular zun at No. 3 sacrificial pit

Some metal pieces of relics of great historical, archaeological and artistic values have been newly unearthed over the past few months at the legendary Sanxingdui Ruins site in southwest China's Sichuan Province, showing the great creativity and ingenuity of ancient people in China.

The relics, discovered at the six latest discovered sacrificial pits of the ruins, include golden masks, jade and ivory artifacts and bronze wares that were exquisitely built and uniquely shaped, said the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Heritage Administration on Thursday.

The new finds brought the total number of items discovered at Sanxingdui to nearly 2,000 after the excavation of No. 3 to No. 8 sacrificial pits began in October last year.

At the No. 8 sacrificial pit, a delicate bronze altar was found. About 95 centimeters in height and 40 centimeters in width, the altar is well-preserved.

Experts believe that this three-part altar shows the scene of sacrifice of Sanxingdui people, thus has great historical and archaeological value.

Three bronze figures discovered from the No. 4 sacrificial pit have aroused strong interests among archeologists.

The three figures present the same pose of kneeling with hands clasping in front of their bodies and heads turning right. The superb carving skills clearly show three layers of their clothing, demonstrating the high artistic value of this finding.

From the No. 3 sacrificial pit of the ruins, the archeologists found a rarely seen bronze ware in the shape of zun (a type of wine vessel). It has been the first round-mouth rectangular zun unearthed in China with such a good condition so far.

In addition to the traditional animal heads patterns, this zun also has a unique design of flying birds on the shoulders.

Originally discovered in the late 1920s, the Sanxingdui Ruins have been dubbed as one of the world's greatest archaeological findings of the 20th century.

Located in the city of Guanghan, around 60 km from the provincial capital Chengdu, the ruins covering an area of 12 square km are believed to be the remnants of the Shu Kingdom, dating back some 4,500 to 3,000 years.