On chinadaily.com.cn

Culture: Erlitou Relic Museum opens

The Erlitou Relic Museum opened on Saturday in Luoyang, Henan province, shedding important light on the history and culture of ancient China's first recorded dynasty of the Xia (c.21st century-16th century BC). Covering 32,000 square meters, the museum exhibits more than 2,000 items, including bronzeware, pottery and jade. The Erlitou Relics date as far back as 3,800 years. Discovered in 1959 in Luoyang by historian Xu Xusheng, Erlitou has been identified by Chinese archaeologists as the relics of the capital of the middle and late Xia Dynasty. Over the past six decades, archaeologists have excavated over 10,000 items covering a total of 40,000 sq m at the site.