Archeologists have recently begun the fourth round of excavations of Sanxingdui, an important relic site in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The fourth excavation will be focused on the former palace of the Sanxingdui ancient kingdom which covers an area of 500 square meters. The three previous excavations were conducted in 1929, 1986 and 1995, respectively.

The excavation site has been divided into 20 parts with each occupying 25 sq. meters. Eighteen archeologists and a dozen local farmers are digging the surface layer. Some pottery fragments have been found.

Sanxingdui, located near Guanghan City on the Chengdu Plain, contains the earliest and largest ruins of the ancient Shu Kingdom.The city walls in the Sanxingdui ruins are about 2,600 meters in length, with an average height of three to five meters.

(Eastday.com 12/11/2000)