4 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Archaeologists find the largest bronze beast of Sanxingdui ruins

The largest and only one of its kind discovered in China to date, the bronze beast was discovered by archaeologists working in sacrificial pit number 8 at the Sanxingdui Bronze Age archaeological site in southwestern China’s Sichuan Province.

The bronze animal is the largest one to be discovered at the location in decades of digging. The beast has a wide open mouth, tall, upright ears, a rounded body on short legs, four embellished hooves, and a thick tail curling up and out from a high rump and weighs about 150 kg (330 lbs).

All other bronze animals discovered at the site since excavation began in the 1980s ranged in size from 20 to 30cm (7.9 to 11.8 inches). However, this one is quite large, with a height and width of about one meter (3.3 feet).

The bronze animal was discovered in July of last year, but archaeologists couldn’t get it out of the pit until other bronze objects piled on top of the statue were removed.

Excavation at Sanxingdui will continue until September, after which archaeologists will begin restoring, categorizing, and researching the newly uncovered treasures. Photo: Weibo

On his broad chest of the bronze beast was engraved a sacred tree of life, bronze versions of which have also been found inside the pits.

“The tree is engraved directly on it and can be seen as Sanxingdui people’s worship of the sacred tree, or has taken the sacred tree as a kind of divine presence,” said Zhao Hao, a Peking University archaeologist.

It also has a feature that has never been seen before on a bronze mythological animal in the pit: a horn on its head with a man standing on it. He is dressed in a long robe and has his right fist clenched. He might have served as the beast’s leader or driver, according to archaeologists.

Human statuettes in various postures were also discovered nearby, which Zhao speculated could have been originally attached to the bronze beast’s body.

Photo: Weibo

The archaeology team also speculated there could be a larger object that was attached to the beast’s back and has yet to be unearthed.

It is not only the biggest and most comprehensive zoomorphic bronze discovered at Sanxingdui. One of the creature’s ears and one of the figure’s arms are the only broken parts. The Shu people ritually broke and burned thousands of objects made of bronze, gold, jade, and ivory before interring them in the six pits at Sanxingdui about 3100 years ago. Less than 2,500 of the roughly 13,000 objects that have been recovered from the pits since excavations began in 2020 were found intact. The dig of pit 8 is ongoing but is expected to be completed in a little over a month.

Cover Photo: Archaeologists first spotted the animal figure more than a year ago but had to remove other artifacts before they could dig it out of the pit. Photo: Weibo

Related Articles

Hidden Archaeological Treasures from Cologne Cathedral

25 January 2024

25 January 2024

An area of around 4,000 square meters (43,055 square feet) is being discovered beneath the Cologne Cathedral, the largest Gothic...

Detector finds rare Merovingian gold ring refers to a previously unknown principality

22 February 2024

22 February 2024

A metal detectorist has unearthed a very rare, 1,500-year-old Merovingian gold ring made of 22-carat gold at Emmerlev in Southwest...

Glacier archaeologists find a 1300-year-old arrow in melting ice

20 August 2022

20 August 2022

The Glacier archaeologists found a 1300-year-old arrow from the Norwegian Iron Age during a research project on the Langfonne ice...

The New Study Says the Iranian Plateau in the Pleistocene is a Bridge Between East and West

19 May 2021

19 May 2021

Iranian researchers say the Iranian plateau served as a migration route between East and West during the Pleistocene period, which...

Paleontologists Unearth Dozens of Giant Dinosaur Eggs in Fossilized Nest in Spain

15 November 2021

15 November 2021

Spain was the scene of a new paleontological discovery. Paleontologists extracted 30 Titanosaurus dinosaur eggs from a two-ton rock in...

A metal detectorist unearthed a Roman silver “ligula” or “Toilet Spoon” in Wales

30 January 2024

30 January 2024

A metal detectorist in Wales unearthed a Roman silver “ligula”, commonly known as a “toilet spoon”. The discovery, made in...

Mustatil Structures in Arabia May Be 7,000-Year-Old Stone Remnants of Cattle Cult

1 May 2021

1 May 2021

Archaeologists examining the mustatil stone remains in the northwest of Arabia think that these stone remains may have been used...

Climate has influenced the growth of our bodies and our brain

8 July 2021

8 July 2021

Over 300 fossils from the genus Homo have been measured for body and brain size by an interdisciplinary team of...

Mass graves of Crusaders killed in the 13th century have been discovered in Lebanon

17 September 2021

17 September 2021

From 1096 to 1291, waves of Europeans took up arms and marched into the Middle East. They hope to “take...

Celtiberian Inscription Found at La Peña del Castro: One of the Earliest Examples of Alphabetic Writing in Northern Iberia

26 February 2025

26 February 2025

La Ercina, León, Spain – Archaeological research at the La Peña del Castro site has unveiled an important discovery that...

Archaeologists uncovered a Roman settlement and what is thought to be an extremely rare early Medieval longhouse in North East Wales

16 August 2024

16 August 2024

The team from the University of Chester, Heneb: the Trust for Welsh Archaeology (Clwyd-Powys region), and the Portable Antiquities Scheme...

Builders of Massive 6000-year-old Menga Dolmen Likely Understood Geometry and other “Early Science” Concepts

25 August 2024

25 August 2024

Researchers say that a new analysis of the 6000-year-old stone Menga (also known as the Dolmen of Menga), supported by...

A spectacular rare ancient Roman bronze coin depicting the moon goddess was discovered off the coast of Israel

25 July 2022

25 July 2022

A rare 1850-year-old exceptionally well-preserved bronze coin depicting the Roman moon goddess Luna has been found off the coast of...

Ancient golden neck ring found in Denmark

24 April 2022

24 April 2022

A one-of-a-kind golden neck ring from the Germanic Iron Age (400-550 A.D.) has been discovered in a field not far...

New Discoveries at Ancient Greek City of Paestum’s ‘Little Doric Temple’ in Italy

16 April 2023

16 April 2023

Archaeologists have made a series of extraordinary discoveries that may fundamentally alter the understanding of the past of the ancient...