China completes conservation of over 4,000 artifacts from Sanxingdui ruins

BEIJING, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- Since July of last year, Chinese archaeological institutions have conserved and restored 4,062 invaluable artifacts excavated from the Sanxingdui site in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Among the restored treasures are a golden mask and a gold ornament shaped like a bird, the National Cultural Heritage Administration revealed at an archaeological project progress meeting on Thursday.

"The unearthed artifacts suggest close interactions between the Sanxingdui culture and other regions, including the Central Plains, northwest China, and the middle reaches of the Yangtze River," the administration said.

Spanning 12 square kilometers, the Sanxingdui Ruins are believed to be the remnants of the Shu Kingdom, dating back 4,500 to 3,000 years.

The conservation efforts were carried out in collaboration between the Sichuan provincial cultural relics and archaeology research institute and 16 other institutions, according to the administration.

In addition to the conservation work, archaeologists conducted extensive research into the copper alloy casting techniques and the origins of the artifacts.

Discovered in the late 1920s in Guanghan, Sichuan Province, the Sanxingdui Ruins are considered one of the world's most significant archaeological discoveries of the 20th century.