GUANGHAN -- Latest results from the multidisciplinary archaeological research on the Sanxingdui Ruins in southwest China's Sichuan Province were released and discussed at a seminar on Thursday.

At the seminar held in Sichuan's Guanghan City, 20 scientific research institutions and universities introduced the latest results from the fields of archaeological excavation, cultural relic protection, multi-disciplinary research, and application of scientific and technological means, and initially clarified the problems such as formation process of sacrificial pits and functions of artifacts.
Based on the previous studies and accurate carbon 14 dating, a research team from Peking University determined that the several sacrificial pits discovered in Sanxingdui were formed in the late Shang Dynasty (1600 B.C.-1046 B.C.) and that the pits were formed at roughly the same time.
"We have clearly dated these pits, tackling the problem about the age of the sacrificial fits that remained unsolved for many years. We have also conducted abundant research on the casting technology of bronzes unearthed from the Sanxingdui site and their origin. We carried out in-depth and detailed detection and analysis on the mud cores and could basically confirm the origin of these bronzes and that their casting is divided into two categories," said Ran Honglin, director of Sanxingdui Institute of Archaeology of Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute.
The research shows that metal artifacts are mainly buried in three sacrificial pits, No. 3, 8 and 7. The bronze forging technology of Sanxingdui was comparatively developed and the bronze wares overall contain high lead. The gold beads are all gold and silver alloys.
The research also provides a new solution to the overall protection and restoration of unearthed ivory objects.
Discovered in the late 1920s, the Sanxingdui Ruins have earned the reputation of being one of the world's greatest archaeological findings of the 20th century.
Located in Guanghan City, the ruins covering an area of 12 square km are believed to be the remnants of the ancient Shu Kingdom which had its heyday around 3,000 years ago.