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China Steps up Relics Protection in Three Gorges
Chinese archeologists have unearthed 2,000 rare relics during an emergency campaign to save relics in the Three Gorges.
Shao Weidong, a local relics protection official, said that archeologists from 15 provinces have excavated 61 key sites and investigated a two-million-sq-m area since the massive rescue started three years ago.
The world's biggest dam will be erected in the Three Gorges on the Yangtze River in 2008, and floods are expected to damage all the historical sites and buried relics in the reservoir.
Shao said that all the important relics will be unearthed and evacuated before the floods come.
Findings have shown that the Three Gorges is a treasury of buried relics, with the oldest Neolithic site being dated back to 8,000 years ago.
Archeologists have even unearthed some tools in Wushan in the Three Gorges, which are believed to be used by primitive human beings two million years ago.
The area is especially famous for its Three Kingdoms sites in the 3th century, when warlords fought decisive battles for the power to rule China.
Shao said that at least 87 historical sites, including temples, grottos and pavilions, will be relocated.
A number of cities and counties in the Three Gorges have employed specialists to battle against relics smuggling and tomb robbery, he added.
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