Word: tomb
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Underneath this sad little village in Henan province is the rich legacy of five millenniums of Chinese history. The nearby city of Luoyang was the capital of at least nine dynasties, and the fields of today's peasants are littered with imperial tombs. Many still hold impossibly valuable works of art buried centuries ago. Breaking into these tombs and stealing the national treasures they hold are illegal, of course. But the lure is too great for many, especially because one major haul, sold to a smuggler, can equal a year's farming income. "For kids here, tomb raiding is just...
...desolate villages southeast of Xi'an, the city that is home to China's famed terra-cotta warriors. These villagers may be dirt poor, but the earth is rich. In early 2001 whispers began circulating that collectors would pay big money for anything dug up from the tomb of Empress Dou, a mighty dowager who died in 135 B.C. So well known was the burial site that locals assumed grave robbers had relieved the tomb's chambers of any gold or silver centuries ago. But now collectors were willing to pay for artifacts the farmers hadn't imagined anyone would...
...agreed to do the job. Using a tangan, a crude shovel with a specially curved blade and an extra-long handle, they probed deep into the earth around the mound, extracting core samples and examining the dirt for indicators such as traces of charcoal, which the ancients packed around tombs to ward off humidity. Locating a likely spot, the villagers lighted the fuse on a 110-lb. lump of homemade dynamite and blew a hole in the middle of a wheat field. Having blasted their way to a spot near the top of the tomb, they donned gas masks...
...next morning, the acrid smell of explosives had wafted to the nearest village, and someone tipped off the cops that looters might be at work. The following night police staked out the tomb. Three raiders were caught; two got away. State press reports hailed the arrests as a triumph, but instead of filling in the hole and posting a guard, the underfunded local cultural-relics bureau simply placed wooden planks across the hole and tossed in some dirt. Before long, other gangs pilfered at least 200 treasures, mostly ceramic statues, from the site. Among the loveliest of these pieces...
...LATEST COVER STORY Eating Smart November 3, 2003 Issue Past Covers Bollywood Oct. 27, 2003 ----------------- Tomb Raiders Oct. 20, 2003 ----------------- Bali Remembered Oct. 13, 2003 ----------------- What Went Wrong? Oct. 6, 2003 ----------------- What's Next Sept. 29, 2003 ----------------- Japan's Koizumi Sept. 22, 2003 ----------------- The Saudis Sept. 15, 2003 ----------------- Dyslexia Sept. 8, 2003 ----------------- U.S. in Iraq Sept. 1, 2003 ----------------- Asian Journey August...