Two bronze cymbals believed to be more than 3,000 years old and the oldest percussion instruments in China have been discovered by archaeologists in Yongxiu County, east China's Jiangxi Province.

Archaeologists from the Jiangxi Provincial Archaeological Research Institute say that this kind of musical instrument was popular in the late Shang Dynasty (16th century BC-11th century BC), and was usually used by the army and during sacrificial ceremonies and feasts.

One of the two cymbals is a hexagonal cavity percussion instrument which is 42.5 cm high and has a diameter of 32 cm in its broadest section. The other has a height of 34.2 cm and a maximum diameter of 28 cm.

Fan Changsheng, director of the institute, says that the discovery has provided more evidence which confirms areas south of the Yangtze River had the same splendid bronze culture as the central part of China in ancient times.

In 1989 large tombs were excavated in the Shang Dynasty in Xingan county of Jiangxi Province which rewrote the history of civilization in the areas to the south of the Yangtze.

Archaeologists also discovered an earth pit, 2.5 meters deep and with a diameter of 3.5 meters in a nearby area. In it were early porcelain and imprinted porcelain chips.

Because of the height of the mountain where the earth pit was excavated, archaeologists believe it might be a sacrificial pit and say there should be ruins of residential facilities nearby. Further investigations are needed to prove this, say archaeologists.

( April 25, 2002)