New discoveries at Sanxingdui Ruins reveal ancient handicraft workshop and urban planning

Chinese archaeologists have uncovered new remains related to the crafting and processing of jade and stone artifacts at the Sanxingdui Ruins site in Sichuan Province, southwest China. Experts have preliminarily identified the site as a "workshop" for these artifacts, marking the first discovery of a handicraft workshop at the Sanxingdui Ruins site.

The newly discovered site dates back to the middle of the Shang Dynasty, approximately 3,400 to 3,500 years ago, predating the previously unearthed sacrificial pits, the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute said on Tuesday.

The unearthed cultural relics, including raw jade and stone materials, blanks, waste materials, fragments and finished products, form a relatively complete chain of early handicrafts, according to the institute. This discovery signifies progress in the archaeological excavation of the Sanxingdui Ruins site.

Since 2022, the Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology has conducted an archaeological excavation in Yueliangwan at Sanxingdui, identifying over 400 sites. These include high-level building foundations, ash pits, ash ditches, and sites for producing and processing stone artifacts. The excavation has unearthed more than 4,000 artifacts, including pottery, jade and stoneware.

Using the newly discovered relics to verify the source of raw materials, such as jade and stone tools, and address questions about the functional layout of the ancient city of Sanxingdui is a significant step in its archaeological research.

"Among the thousands of jade artifacts we excavated this time, there are more than 20 identifiable types," said Xu Danyang, deputy head of the Sanxingdui site at the Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. "These include jade artifacts unique to Sanxingdui as well as some that indicate cultural exchanges with other regions."

"This further illustrates that the handicraft industry at Sanxingdui, along with the ideas, concepts, and technologies of the people at that time, was closely related to other areas of Chinese civilization and is an important part of it," he added.

Evidence of advanced urban planning 3,000 years ago

According to the institute, new archaeological evidence has indicated the ancient city of Sanxingdui had a clear urban plan over 3,000 years ago.

Located in Guanghan, a city in southwest China's Sichuan Province, the Sanxingdui Ruins site covers about 12 square kilometers. The core area is an ancient city surrounded by tall walls. Although some sections of the walls were destroyed over time, archaeologists have restored the city's basic layout based on existing remnants. The ancient city site covers approximately 3.6 square kilometers and is oriented northwest-southeast.

This orientation aligns with the previously discovered Qingguanshan terrace northwest of the site and the newly discovered high-level building foundations and jade and stone workshops. Xu noted that the placement of the cultural relics also corresponds to the overall orientation of the ancient city.

The main axis direction of the Sanxingdui ancient city is northwest-southeast, reflecting the adaptation of the Shu Kingdom people, dating back 4,500 to 3,000 years, to the local geographical environment and the natural trends of mountains and rivers at that time, he said.

"Such a layout facilitated water collection and use for production and daily life, as well as external communication by water, reflecting advanced urban planning concepts," Xu added.

Archaeologists suggest that the layout of the ancient city is now basically clear: a river divides it into a northern and southern part. The northern section housed palace areas and handicraft workshops, while the southern part contained the sacrificial area. Gates were situated on the eastern and western sides, and the city was surrounded by thick, sturdy walls with roads connecting it to the surrounding regions.

"All this is not a coincidence. It was clearly intentional on the part of the ancients," said Sun Hua, professor at the School of Archaeology and Museology at Peking University.

"These new archaeological discoveries, along with the newly confirmed watergates and city gates of the ancient city this year, have provided valuable information for in-depth research on the urban layout of the ancient city," he said.