Eight scholars and lawyers have accused the Henan Cultural Relics Bureau (HCRB) of violating administrative regulations in its identification of the tomb of renowned ancient warlord Cao Cao in Anyang last year.

Fresh controversy over warlord's tomb find.[File photo]

The eight sent a letter to the Ministry of Supervision Thursday, calling on it to repeal the decision made by the bureau to identify Cao Cao's tomb and asked it to organize another identifica-tion.

"The Henan bureau violated legal procedures in identifying a cultural relic," Han Fuzheng, a Hebei-based lawyer who is one of the accusers, told the Global Times Monday.

According to the Interim Administrative Measures for the Recognition of Cultural Relics, which came into force on October 1, 2009, cultural relic administrative departments above the county-level should hold public hearings before identifying cultural relics.

"The hearings were absent from the identification process of Cao Cao's tomb," Han said.

The HCRB announced the discovery of Cao Cao's tomb at a press conference last year but a program broadcast by China Central Television in June showed the tomb was still under excavation. "They announced the discovery before finishing the excavation of the tomb, which is inappropriate," Han added.

The HCRB could not be reached for comment Monday.

Han complained to the State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) about the bureau's violation earlier this year, but received answers saying the procedure was in line with regulations on archeological works.

The SACH said earlier this year that the archaeological excavation and academic identifica-tion regarding Cao Cao's tomb followed regulations related to archaeological work, the Beijing News reported.

Since Henan announced the discovery, arguments over the tomb's authenticity have developed into an ongoing saga involving scholars accusing each other of pandering to various interests. The discovery of Cao Cao's tomb was listed as one of China's top 10 archaeological discoveries of 2009 by the SACH.