Since October this year, four ancient tombs in Zhengzhou, capital
of Henan Province, have been destroyed during the city's modern
urban construction. Zhengzhou is a famous historical and cultural
city, boasting abundant underground cultural relics.
One such case took place not long ago in Sizhao Village of
Zhengzhou. When the construction of a project was going on, the
villagers found a group of ancient tombs. However, instead of
reporting the discovery to the relevant department for the
protection of cultural relics, the villagers rushed over to loot
the tombs. Consequently, many cultural relics were missing and the
site was seriously damaged, leaving no way for archeologists to
evaluate the tombs.
Through a salvage excavation, archaeologists unearthed more than 70
items from the Shang (c. 1,600c.1,100 B.C.), Western Zhou (c.1,100
c.771 B.C.) and Han (206 B.C. 220 AD) dynasties. In one of the
tombs, a jug of millet was dug out. It was a surprise to
archeologists that, having been buried for thousands of years, the
grains still remained in bright color.
Pan Weibin from Henan Cultural Relics Research Institute said,
"Obvious the Zhengzhou area has a rich underground treasure-trove.
There are tombs from the Shang, Western Zhou and Han to the Tang
(618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties. From some of the excavated
ones, rarely seen household utensils were discovered. Through
careful study on them, people today can have a better idea about
the production conditions and productivity of the time. As the
central part of the ruins has been flattened, it's hard to say how
many ancient tombs have been destroyed."
(China.org.cn by Li Jinhui, December 20, 2002)