Five ancient tombs were destroyed overnight in Guangzhou's Luogang district to make room for a metro project on Saturday, raising concern over the protection of relics as economic construction in the Guangdong provincial capital speeds up.
Zhang Qianglu, an official with the Guangzhou Archaeological Institute, said the destroyed tombs were pre-Qin (the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, 770-221 BC) era and were valuable for archaeological study and research of the city's ancient past.
Many archaeologists and workers were still investigating at the site in Luogang's Dagong Mountain area on Friday afternoon, before the tombs were found to have been bulldozed on Saturday morning, with many artifacts destroyed or damaged, Southern Metropolis Daily reported on Sunday.
An executive in charge of the metro project named Zhao admitted his workers had destroyed the tombs, saying it was a misunderstanding between the workers and authorities because they did not know the tombs could not be bulldozed.
Guangzhou Metro Corporation said they received the city archaeological institute's permission for the metro project in May.
But Miao Hui, an institute official, denied that the institute had given the green light for the construction work on the metro project.
"We officially notified the builders to stop construction on May 28 so as to avoid destroying the ancient tombs and relics," Miao told local media. Miao is in charge of the archaeological work at the site.
Zhang said a large number of ancient tombs have been discovered in the Dagong Mountain area in previous years.
"The ancient tombs, which cover an area of more than 20,000 square meters, have become important sources for the study of Guangzhou's lifestyle and culture in ancient dynasties," Zhang said.
Local archaeologists said about 10 of the ancient tombs have been destroyed by construction on the metro project.
The work was halted for further investigation on Sunday.
People cool off in water from orange-coded alert of heat in Chongqing
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