European stocks close higher on Friday

European stocks closed higher across the board on Friday.

The United Kingdom's FTSE 100 index rose 0.91 percent to close at 10,736.23 points. France's CAC 40 index gained 0.88 percent to finish at 8,372.28 points. Germany's DAX index advanced 1.36 percent to end the session at 25099.00 points.

New research on a sacrificial zone of China's renowned Sanxingdui Ruins showed the ancient Shu Kingdom moved its political and cultural center from Sanxingdui to Jinsha in southwest China's Sichuan Province due to an unintentional fire.

Located in the city of Guanghan, the Sanxingdui Ruins are believed to be remnants of the Shu Kingdom dating back some 3,000 to 4,500 years. Two sacrificial pits were discovered in 1986, while another six were found in 2021. The core area of this site covers 3.6 square kilometers. The ruins are renowned for their large and medium-sized bronze artifacts, many of which feature striking and elaborate designs.

Yuanjiayuan, the ritual and sacrificial core of Sanxingdui, spans approximately 13,000 square meters and houses all the eight sacrificial pits. Radiocarbon dating places the area's peak activity in the late Shang Dynasty, roughly 3,200 to 3,000 years ago.

"The Yuanjiayuan sacrificial zone is the most significant archaeological discovery at Sanxingdui in recent years. It is the only fixed, high-ranking ritual space we have confirmed at the site," said Ran Honglin, a research fellow at the Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology.

By analyzing the shape, structure, and burial patterns of the pits alongside scientific testing of building debris, bamboo-wood ash, and damaged artifacts, the team has ruled out deliberate ritual destruction or sacrificial burning. Instead, differential damage patterns suggest a different story.

"Our research indicates that an accidental fire likely destroyed the ritual objects originally displayed in the temple. The ancient Shu people then buried the damaged items in six large pits in a specific order," Ran explained.

The varied degrees of damage support this theory. Large hollow bronze figures and bronze wine vessels were found severely fractured, while smaller solid bronze figurines and jade beads remained largely intact. Experts interpret this selective destruction as the result of collapsing architecture and falling debris, rather than intentional smashing. The fire, they believe, left the high-ranking sacrificial zone abandoned. Thereafter, the ancient Shu Kingdom shifted its political center some 40 kilometers south to the Jinsha site.

"We can confirm that the flourishing periods of Sanxingdui and Jinsha followed one another. This is supported by similarities in settlement location, internal layout, ritual remains, and the types of artifacts used at both sites. Both served as capitals of the ancient Shu Kingdom, with Jinsha emerging as the new capital after Sanxingdui," said Ran.