Chinese archaeologists have unearthed a batch of 40 bronze ritual artifacts in a well-preserved noble tomb dating back to more than 3,000 years.

The tomb, belonging to a noble family of China's late Shang (also called Yin) Dynasty (1600-1100 BC), was excavated in the famous Yin Ruins in Anyang city of central China's Henan Province.

The excavations include seven bronze cooking vessels in different shapes, as well as plates, cups and various types of other ancient food vessels, all of which were used as ritual materials in funerals. Bronze weapons and ceramics were also discovered in the tomb.

One of the most important discoveries of the Yin Ruins is the inscribed animal bones and tortoise shells, known as oracle bones, which carry the earliest known examples of Chinese characters.

An ongoing archeological excavation project in Anyang, the capital of the late Shang Dynasty, has revealed the groundwork of an architectural compound, noble tombs of Shang Dynasty, and unearthed a large number of bronze wares, ceramics, jade, bones and teeth since last year.

The discoveries offer precious material for the archeological study of cultural and social processes in ancient China.
 
(Xinhua News Agency August 18, 2005)