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Today’s archaeologists are building on previous excavations to unveil more mysteries of the Sanxingdui Ruins

By Xie Ying , Huang Xiaoguang , Bao Anqi Updated Jun.1

Sanxingdui Ruins site in Guanghan, Sichuan Province is named after the nearby village, where there are three hillocks in a straight line like three stars – the name translates to “three star mounds.” According to local legend, the Jade Emperor, the ruler of heaven and most important deity according to Chinese mythology, decided it was a treasury and cast down three piles of soil to mark the spot. Few heeded the legend until 1929 when farmer Yan Daocheng found a trove of jade objects underground as he and his family were digging a ditch near their yard. Discovering hundreds of jade pieces and fragments, the family later made a fortune selling them. 　

The news drew attention from David Crockett Graham (1884- 1961), an American anthropologist and naturalist who studied the religions and nationalities of southwestern China in the 1920s and 1930s. He was also a missionary and president of the West China Union University Museum in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province. With the approval of Luo Yucang, then chief of Guanghan County, Graham organized and led a 10-day archaeological dig around Yan’s house in 1934, excavating more than 600 burial objects, including pottery, stone ware and jade. Graham stored most of the artifacts in his museum, now part of Sichuan University. 　

In his published report on the excavation, Graham deduced the relics were remains of the ancient Shu (Sichuan) state before 1,100 BCE, calling it the “Guanghan Culture.” 　

Although excavations took place sporadically in the years after, the digs were not extensive. Following suspensions during the war years and the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), there was no major work until 1986, when activity at nearby brick-making kilns which risked destroying the site prompted renewed exploration. 　

During that excavation, archaeologists discovered relics in pits now named No.1 and No.2 that turned the world of Chinese archeology on its head. The finds included a gold scepter and large bronze objects which differed from other contemporary finds, indicating a completely different culture from what was previously known. Two years later, Sanxingdui was listed as a major cultural relics site under State protection. Fearing further excavation would destroy the relics, the excavation focused on finding remnants of ancient walls and palaces on the principle that protection is the top priority. 　

A new excavation started after Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics and Archeology Research Institute (Sichuan Archaeology Institute) issued a three-year action plan in August 2019 for archaeological work in the Sanxingdui site which promised more excavations in the sacrificial pits. 　

From October 2019 to August 2020, staff from the Sichuan Archaeology Institute and Sanxingdui Museum explored areas around the two pits, which had already been backfilled and covered with a sightseeing platform. Six more pits were found, numbered from Nos. 3-8. The platform has been dismantled and the new pits covered with temporary protective shelters to conduct excavations without the risk of exposure to the elements. Labs were built to examine the finds. 　

‘Moon’ and ‘Stars’

According to local records, Yan’s family lived in the Yueliangwan area where there was a moon-shaped ridge – yueliang in Chinese meaning moon. The ridge faced the three hillocks of Sanxingdui across the Mamu River. Ancient texts described the scenery as “the moon embracing the stars,” a treasured place according to traditional geomancers. 　

But no one archaeologically connected Yueliangwan to Sanxingdui until Feng Hanji, a close friend of Graham and director of the preparation office of the Southwest Museum in Chongqing, part of Sichuan Province at that time, led another archaeological excavation in the Yueliangwan area in 1963, the first after the People’s Republic of China (PRC) was founded in 1949. 　

Feng asked his student Wang Jiayou to conduct a field investigation after railway construction workers reported finding burial objects. 　

During the investigation, Wang stayed with Yan’s family and studied the jade objects unearthed in 1929. He also visited Sanxingdui Village and collected pottery and bronze items locals had found. After studying those objects, he inferred that the relics in Yueliangwan and Sanxingdui areas could both be remains of the ancient Shu culture. 　

According to Duan Yu, director of the History Institute under the Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences, this was the first time that archaeologists had connected the two small areas, Yueliangwan and Sanxingdui, to the same culture. 　

In 1994, archaeologist Ma Jixian, who participated in the 1963 excavation, revealed in a report on Yueliangwan they had unearthed utensils and tools, including pottery jars, pots, dishes, bowls and spinning wheels, stone axes and knives, as well as jade ware, bone ware and bronze fragments. 　

Although the report was 30 years late because Feng fell ill soon after the excavation and then China was embroiled in the Cultural Revolution, the excavation was an important reference for the later archaeological work at Sanxingdui, Ma said. By comparing the burial objects unearthed in Yueliangwan and Sanxingdui, archaeologists confirmed Wang’s belief that they were of the same culture and Yueliangwan was part of the larger site. 　

This conclusion also conforms to Feng’s belief that Sanxingdui was probably the main settlement of the ancient Shu state, a Bronze Age civilization which originated from a primitive tribe. 　

Chinese historical records said that the Qin state conquered the Shu in 316 BCE during the Warring States Period (475-221 BCE). 　

Archaeologists Zhao Dianzeng (left) and Chen Xiandan (center) and photographer Chen Xianghua take aerial photographs of the Sanxingdui site, 1981

Brick Kilns and Treasure

Feng died in 1977. As China intended to participate in an international cultural relics expo that same year, archaeological work resumed more quickly than other sectors following the Cultural Revolution. Still, little attention was paid to Sanxingdui, which had become nothing more than a source of raw material for the nearby brick kilns. Burial objects were scattered in the soil residue. 　

In 1980, Zhao Dianzeng, an archaeologist at Sichuan Museum, visited Sanxingdui Village on the way back from another site. Zhao and his team identified a “cultural layer” in the black soil of a brick kiln. A cultural layer is an archaeological term referring to a layer of unnaturally formed soil which shows traces of human life. Very quickly, Zhao and his colleagues had sifted more than 300 samples from the layer, including small pots and big stone axes. They filled a truck with artifacts to send to Zhao’s museum, which decided to send a team to Sanxingdui. 　

The excavation was a spectacle for local residents, who called the excavators “treasure hunters.” But disappointment followed when nothing was found but gravel and broken tiles. “Stop digging, or you’ll keep wasting money,” one of the workers told the team, archaeologist Chen Xiandan, who participated in the excavation, recalled. 　

But the archaeologists believed they should persevere. Zhao told NewsChina that he had copied chapters of an ancient book about the history of Sichuan, and it had been his dream since then to explore the mysteries of Shu culture. 　

During the 1980 excavation, archaeologists found remnants of 18 constructions, and four tombs dating back 3,000-4,000 years. They unearthed several hundred items of pottery, stone ware and jade ware and thousands of pieces of pottery debris, according to a feature in the Beijing Daily in 2016, published to mark the 30th anniversary of the major finds at the site. 　

In 1982, the archaeological team submitted their report, which stated that the Sanxingdui site, according to renowned Chinese archaeologist Xia Nai’s theory, met the requirements to be named as a separate culture – showing distinct characteristics of a group or community and being discovered in more than one place. 　

“It would be too conservative if we still feel reluctant to call the [Sanxingdui] relics a culture,” the report said. 　

The same year, the local archaeological department officially zoned the 12-square kilometer area around the three hillocks as a relics site, encompassing two towns and seven villages. 　

In 1984, the PRC held its first national archaeological conference in Chengdu, where Su Bingqi, director of the Chinese Archaeology Society, praised the 1980 excavation at Sanxingdui as being “systematic and of strong characteristics,” and encouraged archaeologists to take it as a point of growth for Chinese archaeology. 　

Major Discoveries

Despite the official zoning and the archaeologists’ report, the Sanxingdui relics site was left unprotected and the brick kilns continued to remove earth. By the time of the 1986 excavation, the three hillocks were down to half a hillock. 　

“Sanxingdui wasn’t under State protection then, not even under county protection. That was the hardest time for the site,” Chen Xiandan told NewsChina. 　

According to Chen, the 1986 excavation was originally a trainee project organized by Sichuan University and the Sichuan Archaeology Institute. Around 20 archaeology students were sent to three pre-defined zones where they excavated 16 layers of soil. 　

The brick kilns refused to stop production, so the archaeological team had to zone separate land for them to take earth. “We had to get ahead of the workers, because they were rough and quick when they dug the earth out,” Chen said. 　

While the archaeologists toiled in vain, some of the kiln workers accidentally shoveled out something valuable. 　

“Come on, they’ve dug out jade objects. People are scrambling for them,” one worker shouted to Chen on July 18, 1986. The archaeologists rushed over a few dozen meters from their own dig site, and sealed it. After preliminary excavations, a pit 4.5 by 3.3 meters filled with a wide variety of burial objects was discovered, including animal bones, pottery ware, bronze ware and jade. There were so many objects, the archaeologists had to work day and night. 　

Since no human bones were found, the pits were defined as sacrificial for a religious ritual or other big event, although there is still debate over their exact purpose. 　

A couple of weeks later, No.2 pit was discovered, but again, by local workers. In this 5.3 by 2.3-meter pit, the archaeologists, according to the Beijing Daily report, unearthed more than 1,400 burial objects made of gold, bronze, jade and bone, as well as over 4,600 shells in layers. 　

On top of everything lay 60 elephant tusks. Some of the most unusual finds, including the delicate bronze trees and a huge bronze statue with an unusual appearance, came from this pit.

The importance of these discoveries meant Sanxingdui was given State protection in 1988 and the brick kilns were ordered to leave. 　

“It [State protection] was like giving us an imperial sword so nobody dares start a brick kiln and remove earth from the site anymore. We later established a Sanxingdui relics protection base,” Chen said. 　

Archaeologists clean artifacts unearthed from No.2 sacrificial pit, Sanxingdui, 1986

Modern Methods

The new dig shows how awareness of the need to protect cultural relics has changed in the country. A China Central Television Station (CCTV) livestream of the current Sanxingdui excavation has proved popular as viewers watch in hope of seeing a new discovery. 　

The shelters erected above the dig sites provide controlled temperature and humidity. Excavators wear protective suits to prevent contaminants. 　

“If we compare the excavation to giving birth, the previous conditions were like we only had a midwife, but now we’ve moved to a professional gynecological and obstetrical hospital with protective equipment,” Chen De’an, former director of the Sanxingdui archaeological team and one of the archaeologists that discovered No.1 and No.2 pits, told NewsChina. 　

“I’m deeply impressed by the advanced technologies used in the latest excavation,” Xu Feihong, supervisor of No.3 pit, told NewsChina. He revealed that the Sichuan Archaeology Institute provided archaeologists with an integrated excavation platform. An scissored platform allows excavators to dangle Tom Cruise-like over the dig to avoid damaging artifacts. In addition, there is a crane to lift heavy objects, a photography platform and a hyperspectral scanner for forensic investigations. 　

“It’s very different from the 1986 excavation. We’re really well prepared for the excavation of these six new pits,” Xu said. “We’ve established a lab and we can conduct experiments on site so we don’t have to wait for answers,” he added. 　

“It’s like we’ve moved the dig into a lab with these new technologies and equipment,” Sun Hua, a professor at the School of Archaeology and Museology, Peking University, told NewsChina. 　

According to CCTV, there are more than 100 archaeologists and experts working on the six pits from 34 departments and organs, covering metallurgy, botany, environment, zoology and relics protection. There are regular meetings to exchange ideas and discuss plans. 　

Ran Honglin, executive leader of the Sanxingdui relics excavation team, told NewsChina that the excavation has two phases. The first, from October 2019-August 2020, formed the basis of the second phase. “In the 1986 excavation, archaeologists failed to connect the No.1 and No.2 pits to the neighboring areas, but in the first phase we systematically explored the whole area where the eight pits are,” Ran said. “If we had not done that, the excavation would have just been like a random dig.” 　

“We won’t miss even a handful of soil now,” Sun Hua said. “For example, archaeologists couldn’t distinguish silk fragments mixed in the soil with the naked eye, so the fragments might have been overlooked in the past. Now we take all the soil from the six new pits to the lab, except surface soil that’s already contaminated,” he added. 　

According to Sun, the latest excavation will refine and update their understanding of the culture and civilization that was mainly derived from the first two pits. Archaeologists expect the new information could unlock mysteries and settle disputes, such as the exact age and function of the sacrificial pits. 　

According to Lei Yu, director of the Sanxingdui Ruins site station, their work will not stop at studying the burial objects, since their objective is to gain a clear understanding of the Shu settlement, its form and how it functioned. He revealed that the Sichuan Archaeology Institute’s three-year plan has defined the focus of their work as “settlement archaeology,” which means assessing the relics from different phases and zones to understand their relationships, and “social archaeology” which means gathering information about the identities, social stratum and tribal structure of the people who lived there. 　

“According to our plan, the next task is to conduct multiple disciplinary studies on the cultural relics from in and around the pits to get an idea about the sacrificial system of the ancient Shu culture,” he told NewsChina. 　

“We’re just taking the first step in our long journey,” Xie Zhenbin, the Sichuan Archaeology Institute’s culture relics protection director, said.　

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