Embark on a journey through time at the newly opened Taosi Site Museum in China, where you can uncover the rich history of one of the earliest known civilisations in China, dating back over 4,100 years.

This museum offers a unique opportunity to explore the origins of ancient Chinese society, showcasing artefacts from a civilisation that has said to have laid the foundations for China’s cultural and historical development.

According to a press statement, the Taosi Site Museum, which is located in the Shanxi County of Xiangfen, recently opened its doors to visitors. The museum showcases over 230 extraordinary relics uncovered from the ruins of the ancient capital city from the era of Emperor Yao, a legendary sage king. Overall, more than 5,500 pieces or sets of cultural relics have been unearthed at the Taosi site.

The 230 relics on display currently include pieces showing the culture and life of ancient inhabitants including items of pottery, jade, stone and copper. The museum also boasts relics that some scholars speculate may be related to astronomical observation and timekeeping.

Discovered in 1958, the Taosi Site has been the focus of extensive archaeological excavations since 1978, revealing a fascinating urban settlement, a palace complex, storage areas, cemeteries, and even an astronomical observatory altar.

Located within the Taosi Archaeological Site Park, the museum features a dedicated exhibition hall on ancient astronomy, highlighting the site’s role as a centre of early celestial observation. The statement adds that a state-of-the-art preservation facility houses the majority of the recovered artefacts, offering visitors an immersive experience that brings this ancient civilisation to life.

Among the most valuable exhibits of the museum according to Gao Jiangtao, head of the archaeological team for the Taosi ruins, lies a gnomon shadow measurement tool called guibiao, a coloured pottery plate with a curled dragon pattern and a flat pottery kettle with red-inked inscriptions. The tool is said to be part of an ancient observatory discovered at the Taosi ruins. Archaeologists believe this is the earliest observatory known in China.

The coloured pottery plate with a dragon pattern might point to the origin of the Chinese totem of dragon, and the red pictographic characters inscribed on the flat pottery kettle might be the earliest written language in China, says Jiangtao.