The ancient burial site of Sanxingdui (Three Star Piles) lies a short distance from Chengdu and is considered by some archaeologists to be more important than Xian’s Terracotta Army. The three large earth mounds from which the site takes its name are the remains of the southern section of an ancient wall. From its discovery by labourers in 1929 when digging out a ditch to the recent unearthing of two burial pits in 1986 the site has been shrouded in mystery. Some even think it might be the capital of the ancient Shu civilization. Whatever truths lie within this 12 square kilometre plot it is safe to say that the discovery has changed people’s understanding of history in the region.
Excavation of the pits revealed a surreal collection of over 1000 bronze artefacts from bells and rings to weapons, exquisite jade wares and decorative animals. Notable objects include a sacrificial altar, a 4 metre high bronze tree and what has been described as ‘the world’s largest and best preserved bronze upright human figure.’ The most striking discovery however remains a haunting collection of giant bronze masks with large almond shaped eyes, huge ears and square faces, created using extremely advanced bronze casting technology. A mix of lead, copper and tin enabled the production of much larger pieces. One of the masks measures 1.32 metres across and is the largest bronze mask ever found.
Nothing similar has been found anywhere else, and there are no inscriptions to shed light on their origins. Such a distinctive Bonze Age civilization isn’t even mentioned in historical texts.
Archaeologists have identified the culture that produced these artefacts to be the ancient Shu civilisation founded by Cancong over 4900 years ago. The Chronicles of Huayang compiled in the Jin Dynasty (256-420AD) describes Cancong with protruding eyes, which is a prominent feature in some of the Sanxingdui masks. Many other artefacts, such as the bronze fish and birds have been interpreted as totems associated with other rulers mentioned in the chronicles of Huayang. However another theory suggests that the figures may have represented natural gods.
It seems that the site was suddenly abandoned around 1,000 B.C. perhaps due to an earthquake, extensive flooding or military conquest, but nobody really knows.