China's tomb raiders laying waste to thousands of years of history [View all]

Bulldozers and dynamite used to strip priceless artefacts from remote sites, with booty sold on to wealthy collectors
Tania Branigan in Beijing
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 1 January 2012 10.05 EST

China's extraordinary historical treasures are under threat from increasingly aggressive and sophisticated tomb raiders, who destroy precious archaeological evidence as they swipe irreplaceable relics.

The thieves use dynamite and even bulldozers to break into the deepest chambers – and night vision goggles and oxygen canisters to search them. The artefacts they take are often sold on within days to international dealers.

Police have already stepped up their campaign against the criminals and the government is devoting extra resources to protecting sites and tracing offenders. This year it set up a national information centre to tackle such crimes.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/01/china-tomb-raiders-destroy-relics?CMP=twt_fd