3,000 years old bronze relics on show

Many of the bronze pieces on show are 3,000 years old.

"They are so beautiful, vivid and friendly. It is easy to imagine how people in ancient times would feel naturally connected to these creatures," Wang says. "The fine craftsmanship and elaborate patterns reflect the highly developed technology of bronze casting 3,000 years ago."

Visitors were comparing these zun to Bambi, the popular Disney figure of a deer. As a wine vessel, each of them has a lid on its back that can be lifted to open.

Wang and his colleagues have determined that the bronze unearthed in Shigu hill dates back to the West Zhou dynasty (1046-771BC). They have worked intensively in the tombs No 3 and No 4 in the region since 2012, discovering some extremely precious pieces. Some are new forms unearthed for the first time.

It's difficult for archeologists to decide whom these tombs belonged to, except that they were probably occupied by a couple of aristocrats.

A particularly valuable discovery is a bronze Jin, a ritual altar table with dragon pattern, with a set of wine vessels placed on it.

In the past century, three of these bronze Jin have unearthed in the region. One of the Jin with a set of wine vessels on it was unearthed in 1901, and acquired by an official named Duan Fang, a passionate antique connoisseur. It later went to an United States missionary John C. Ferguson, who sold the set to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.