He was the father of Audrey Donnithorne;[11] and was one of the key figures in the discovery of the archaeological site now known as Sanxingdui.[12] A well to do farmer had discovered jade implements while dredging an irrigation ditch in 1927.[13] This was near Hanchow, where Donnithorne was stationed, and the discovery was brought to his attention in 1931. He recognized the importance of the discovery and contacted a local magistrate as well as Daniel S. Dye, a professor of geology at West China Union University. The three of them then visited the site and photographed and measured it. Through the magistrate, a few items were acquired and sent to the museum at WCUU. Then, in 1934, David Crockett Graham, the new director of the museum at WCUU, organized the first archaeological excavation of the site.[13][14]
^‘DONNITHORNE, Rev. Vyvyan Henry’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014; online edn, April 2014 accessed 6 July 2017
^Ao, Tianzhao (2000). "三星堆古文化、古城、古国遗址发现始末" [The History of Discovery of the Ancient Sanxingdui Culture, and Ruins of Ancient Cities and Kingdoms of Shu]. 巴蜀史志 [Historical Records of Bashu] (in Simplified Chinese) (4): 39. ISSN1671-265X. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
^"谁发现了三星堆？寻找九十年前揭开古蜀之谜的关键人物" [Who Discovered Sanxingdui? Looking for the Key Person Who Uncovered the Mystery of the Ancient Shu Kingdom 90 Years Ago]. new.qq.com (in Simplified Chinese). 15 April 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
