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)