"The findings also show that this area was well-designed, governed and organized," Huang says. "The exceptional identities of the occupants of the tombs will be further revealed by other unearthed artifacts."

As well as bronze ritual items and weapons, 11 jade items, 123 cowries and decorations made of turquoise were also unearthed.

Nonetheless, the biggest surprise among the findings is perhaps five gold artifacts, some of which are believed to have once covered the faces of those interred there. However, Huang says the specific use of these gold artifacts is still a matter of speculation.

For an early stage Chinese civilization, the use of gold artifacts was exotic. Chen Xingcan, director of the Institute of Archaeology with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, says it was more common to use gold in burials in the West.

It also reminds the public of the discoveries of gold masks at the Sanxingdui site in Sichuan province, dating back 3,200 to 3,000 years.