The mysterious origins of ancient bronze vessels found in parts of northern China may have been revealed when the remains of a Bronze Age city were discovered in the area.

Archaeologists have found hundreds of wonderful artifacts, including bronze drinking vessels, painted pottery, turquoise-encrusted jewelry, and carved jade at the vast archaeological site of Zhaigou, about 110 kilometers south of the modern city of Yulin in Shaanxi province.

The ruins, which are more than 3,000 years old, were made during the Shang Dynasty, which ruled northern China from 1600 BC. to 1046 BC

The archaeologists described the discovery at a press conference of the China National Cultural Heritage Administration, held in Beijing.

Experts say locals have been excavating artifacts on farmland since the 1940s, but their origins are unknown. According to archaeologists, the discovery of a Bronze Age settlement spanning 11 hills and covering more than 3 square kilometers in the Zhaigou region explains their history.

“All the main elements of the central settlement were discovered in the area,” Xu Liangao, a researcher at the Chinese Archaeological Institute, told the state-run China Daily newspaper. “We have found numerous tombs and large-scale structures in this area in the past, but this time the face of the settlement was fully revealed.”

Shaanxi, together with neighboring Henan and Shanxi, forms the so-called “cradle” of ancient Chinese civilization in the Yellow River basin; and the Shang dynasty is the oldest dynasty for which archaeological evidence is found, although the Xia dynasty is said to have preceded it between 2070 BC. and 1600 BC

A total of 13 ancient Chinese dynasties’ capitals have been in Shaanxi for over 1,000 years, which explains why the modern province is the source of many important archaeological finds.

According to press conference reports, excavations at the Zhaigou archaeological site began in June 2022, and the ancient city is considered the largest in the region, with some of the richest tombs ever found.

Sun Zhanwei, a researcher at the Shaanxi Academy of Archaeology, said archaeologists found nine aristocratic tombs at Zhaigou, seven of which were rectangular tombs with passages, indicating they belonged to local leaders. Chinese Daily.

“The graves symbolize high social status,” he said. “In this hierarchy, those who were not of high status could not enter the tomb.”

The Bronze Age city center was built using compacted earth, a construction technique in which a mixture of moist earth is compacted in a form or frame. Buildings with various purposes have also been discovered here, including craft workshops and pottery kilns.

According to the Chinese state television channel CGTNArchaeologists at Zhaigou also found several bronze fragments of chariots and the remains of horses, providing “important evidence for the emergence of chariots and the development of chariot burial traditions in China.”

Archaeologists have unearthed more than 200 burial objects, such as lacquered vessels similar to those found elsewhere in the Shang Dynasty.

At a press conference, experts said that the ruins in Zhaigou may once have been the capital of a separate state, which was conquered by the Shans residing in the city of Yinxiu, Henan province, and later paid tribute to them.