A paper published in Asian Archaeology by the School of Archaeology and Museology, Sichuan University, and the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute has confirmed that iron fragments from Sanxingdui’s No. 7 sacrificial pit are pure meteoric iron. Three heavily corroded fragments, shaped like a yue (axe) and dated to the late Shang Dynasty, were found. The team believes it likely served as a ritual weapon and, given its high hardness, may have also been used for bronze processing.
Meteoric iron, a natural iron-nickel alloy from space, often held special significance, suggesting the ancient Shu people crafted this “heavenly gift” over 3,000 years ago. The discovery extends the known range of meteoric iron use in ancient China from the Yellow River Basin to the upper Yangtze River’s Sichuan Basin, filling a gap in the early iron-use history of southwestern China. To date, 4,378 numbered relics (including groups) have been unearthed from Pit No. 7, with 1,686 relatively complete artifacts.
