The remains of a gold mask are among the 3,000-year-old artifacts (历史文物) found at Sanxingdui, a 4.6-square-mile area outside Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province. Weighing about 280 grams and     1     (estimate) to be made from 84% gold, the mask is one of over 500 items unearthed from six newly discovered “sacrificial pits (深坑)” in Sanxingdui.

More than 50,000 ancient artifacts     2     (find) at Sanxingdui since the 1920s, when a local farmer     3     (accidental) came upon a number of relics at the site. A major breakthrough occurred in 1986, with the discovery of two ceremonial pits     4     (contain) over 1,000 items. Discoveries made at the site date back to the 12th and 11th centuries BC, and many of the items are now     5     display at an on-site museum.

The site has completely changed experts’ understanding of     6     the ancient civilization developed in China. In particular, evidence suggests that the unique ancient Shu     7     (social) developed independently of neighboring cultures in the Yellow River Valley,     8     was traditionally considered to be the origin of Chinese civilization.

Along with other Shu archaeological     9     (site), it is credited by the UN as “    10     outstanding representative of the Bronze Age Civilization of China, East Asia and even the world.”

Last October, three fossilized dinosaur eggs,     1     date back to the early and mid-late Cretaceous period, were found in Wuning County Jiangxi Province. The     2       (authority) said they would put them on display.

An excavator driver found several fossils and fragments (碎片) while     3     (work) on a construction project on October 5 in Wuning County and it was     4     (immediate) reported to the local government, according to Wuning County Museum.

“We received a call which claimed they had found something similar to dinosaur egg fossils and we instantly went to     5     site,” an employee Zhang from Wuning County Museum told the Global Times on Thursday.

She went there     6       the professional team and saw the egg fossils attached to a rock. The three fossils are nearly round and can be seen clearly. Two of     7     (they) are well preserved, and one egg’s shell has peeled off, according to Zhang.

“After professional research by experts, the egg fossils     8     (confirm) as dinosaur egg fossils. They are now with the museum and     9     (far) research has been carried out,” said Zhang.

In recent years, Chinese scientists     10     (discover) from studies of dinosaur egg fossils that a sustained decline in dinosaur diversity happened in the late Cretaceous period.

More than 500 pieces of relics    1    (discover) in recent months at the legendary Sanxingdui Ruins site in Southwest China’s Sichuan province, dazzling archaeologists with their historical value as well as the display of creativity.

The relics, discovered at the six new sacrificial pits of the ruins, include golden masks, jade and ivory artifacts and bronze wares    2    were delicately built and    3    (unique) shaped, said the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Heritage Administration.

The new finds bring the total number of items discovered at Sanxingdui to nearly 2,000    4    the excavation (挖掘) of No.3 to No.8 sacrificial pits began in October last year.

“The new discoveries demonstrate once again that    5    (imagine) and creativity of the ancient Chinese far surpassed    6    people today have expected,” said Tang Fei, chief of the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute.

Tang added that the excavation of the new pits has entered a critical stage,    7    more items yet to be unearthed and expected to challenge the    8    (convention) wisdom of archaeologists.

Originally discovered in the late 1920s, the Sanxingdui Ruins have been referred to as one of the world’s greatest archaeological finds of the 20th century.

Located in the city of Guanghan, around 60 km from the provincial capital Chengdu, the ruins covering    9    area of 12 square km are believed to be the remains of the Shu Kingdom,    10    (date) back some 4,500 to 3,000 years.