File photo shows staff members repairing the bronze mask discoverd at the Sanxingdui Ruins site in southwest China's Sichuan Province. The largest bronze mask unearthed from the legendary Sanxingdui Ruins site in Sichuan met the public at Monday's Spring Festival TV Gala.(Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute & Sanxingdui Museum/Handout via Xinhua)
The largest bronze mask unearthed from the legendary Sanxingdui Ruins site in southwest China's Sichuan Province met the public at Monday's Spring Festival TV Gala.
The mask measures 131 cm wide, 71 cm tall and 66 cm deep, and weighs 65.5 kg, said Tang Fei, chief of the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute.
The ruins near the provincial capital Chengdu are believed to be the remnants of the Shu Kingdom, dating back some 4,500 to 3,000 years. The bronze mask, unearthed in June last year, is a signature artifact of the ruins, and dates back over 3,000 years, Tang said.
Discovered in the late 1920s, the Sanxingdui Ruins have been dubbed as one of the world's greatest archaeological finds of the 20th century.
By the end of last year, over 10,000 pieces of relics, including golden masks, figurines, and ivory artifacts have been unearthed from the six newly-found sacrificial pits.
Combo photo shows a bronze mask discovered at the No. 3 sacrificial pit of the Sanxingdui Ruins site in southwest China's Sichuan Province (top, photo taken on Sept. 3, 2021 by Wang Xi), and the repaird bronze mask (bottom, file photo provided by Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute & Sanxingdui Museum). The largest bronze mask unearthed from the legendary Sanxingdui Ruins site in Sichuan met the public at Monday's Spring Festival TV Gala.
File photo shows a back view of the repaired bronze mask discoverd at the Sanxingdui Ruins site in southwest China's Sichuan Province. The largest bronze mask unearthed from the legendary Sanxingdui Ruins site in Sichuan met the public at Monday's Spring Festival TV Gala.(National Cultural Heritage Administration/Handout via Xinhua)
File photo shows staff members repairing the bronze mask discoverd at the Sanxingdui Ruins site in southwest China's Sichuan Province. The largest bronze mask unearthed from the legendary Sanxingdui Ruins site in Sichuan met the public at Monday's Spring Festival TV Gala. (Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute & Sanxingdui Museum/Handout via Xinhua)
File photo shows staff members repairing the bronze mask discoverd at the Sanxingdui Ruins site in southwest China's Sichuan Province. The largest bronze mask unearthed from the legendary Sanxingdui Ruins site in Sichuan met the public at Monday's Spring Festival TV Gala. (National Cultural Heritage Administration/Handout via Xinhua)
File photo shows staff members repairing the bronze mask discoverd at the Sanxingdui Ruins site in southwest China's Sichuan Province. The largest bronze mask unearthed from the legendary Sanxingdui Ruins site in Sichuan met the public at Monday's Spring Festival TV Gala. (National Cultural Heritage Administration/Handout via Xinhua)
