Archaeology museum opens in Shaanxi

Visitors can see some of the most recent major finds that have sparked widespread public discussion. For example, there is the unprecedented find of an early work by the iconic Tang Dynasty calligraphy master Yan Zhenqing, which was a woman's epigraph carved on her tombstone on the outskirts of Xi'an.

After years of dispute, the location of the mausoleum of Liu Heng, the third emperor of the Western Han, who has become historically famous as being a diligent ruler, was finally confirmed after the discovery of abundant burial objects.

Sun added that the new venue aims to demonstrate not only the beauty of the cultural relics, but also offer extensive information on the locations where they were excavated. Some exhibits might be unattractive to the eye, but they contain key clues for academic breakthroughs.

"With this museum, we can in time share our findings on cultural heritage with the public," Sun said. "And it's also a place where the public can come to understand archaeologists' daily lives and multidisciplinary research methods."

For that reason, broken artifacts like ceramic shards and earthen architectural foundations are also showcased in the museum. Several archaeological work sites were relocated to the new museum as "whole packages".

For example, the findings from a luxurious funeral pit with burial horses and bronze chariots, first excavated in 2014, from a 2,800-year-old aristocrat's tomb were carefully moved from the site in Baoji of Shaanxi for detailed research in a lab. That was also done for a Mongol-style tomb with exquisite murals from the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) that was first found in 1998.