3,000 year old Gold Mask found in China

Civilisations and cultures across vastly different locales and periods have arrived on gold as the ultimate form of wealth and the artefacts stand the test of time. An estimated 3,000-year-old gold mask has been unearthed by archaeologists in central China. It is the first of its kind to be identified dating back to the Shang dynasty (1600–1046 B.C.E.).

The City of Sanxingdui is believed to be the epicenter of the ancient Shu Kingdon, which coexisted with the Shang dynasty. Henan, where both the Shu and Shang were prominent, likely formed the basis of modern Chinese civilisation. The excavation site in Sanxingdui continues to  yield a range of gold and bronze artifacts.

The mask was beaten from a single sheet of gold. It measures 18.3cm long and 14.5cm wide. It weighs 40 grams in total, but is an estimated 84% gold. Seeing that it’s not 99.99% pure gold, unfortunately we are going to have to charge GST.

Last year another gold mask was found, however these are the only two from nearly thousands of excavated tombs. Surrounding tombs had occupants buried with bronze or Jade. It brings up the question as to why these specific individuals were buried with gold and not others? What religious significance did gold have for that culture at that time?

The custom of producing gold masks that would have fully covered the face has also been found in other famous civilisations. The ‘Mask of Agamemnon’ was discovered in 1876 and is believed to be on the body of the Mycenaean king Agamemnon, leader of the Achaeans in Home’s epic of the Trojan war.

Most famously, Egyptian pharohs such as Tutankhamun were buried with ornate golden death masks. King Tut’s mask weight approximately 11kg. With kilo bars of gold going for well north of $81,000 a kilo, without factoring in the gems, the melt value would be closing on a million dollars.

A number of very early pre-fuedal societies have used gold as a way of honouring the elites of society passing from one world to the next. As a metal that doesn’t tarnish or corrode in any way shape of form, gold’s unique physical characteristics make it eternal and indestructable. Ancient societies may well have seen gold as a connection to the a higher being of some description.

In today’s world, gold’s most mysterious property is that it enables it’s holders to protect their wealth from government and banking cartels seeking to steal wealth through inflation and reduction of purchasing power. One way or another, gold’s place in human socieities as a store of value is as true as it was at the birth of Chinese civilisation as it is today.