Sebastien Le Belzic
It is a major archaeological discovery of the 21st century. New bronzes have been found in the ruins of Sanxingdui, China. Archaeologists are on the trail of a previously unknown dynasty. The existence of this ancient kingdom would support the thesis of a Chinese civilization with multiple origins.
More than 13,000 relics have been discovered in the province of Sichuan, located in the southwestern region of the country, more precisely in Sanxingdui, an ancient fortified city 3,000 years old. Archaeologists have discovered tombs and sacrificial pits containing gold, jade and bronze offerings. “The particularity of the pits discovered is that they contain very many pieces”, explains the person in charge of the excavations at the microphone of Europe 1.
Tens of thousands of parts
“Some [pièces] are really tiny. We have already unearthed several thousand of them and once the whole excavation is finished, there could still be several tens of thousands more, which is exceptional.” Among the 13,000 objects recently found in Sanxingdui, the one we are talking about the plus is a grid covering a twisted bronze turtle shell.
Credit: SHEN BOHAN / XINHUA / XINHUA VIA AFP
A civilization that appeared 4,500 years ago
These are mostly masks and sculptures, which lift the veil on an ancient kingdom, that of the Zhou kings, whose craftsmanship and cultural influences were very different from those of the rest of China. There is no written record of this civilization which appeared 4,500 years ago and which flourished on the margins of the Han ethnic group, which is now dominant in China. Its existence would therefore support the thesis of a Chinese civilization with multiple origins. Until then, historians believed that the Yellow River, the second longest river in China, was the only cradle of the Middle Kingdom in Beijing.