Busting thieves the start of cultural relic protection: expert

The crackdown of relic thieves should be the start of cultural relic protection and theft prevention, which must be sustained long term, an expert said on Tuesday.

Police in Anyang, Central China’s Henan Province revealed on Monday typical cases of relic theft at the Yinxu archaeological site, where the remains of the ancient capital of the late Shang Dynasty (1600–1046BC,) are located, Zhengzhoubased Dahe Daily reported on Monday.

Police detained about 200 relic thieves, cracking down on nearly 20 groups, and recovered 713 cultural relics from August 2017 to August 2018, according to the report.

“It is relatively difficult to protect Yinxu as the site covers a very large area and the cost of stealing is quite low,” Ni Fangliu, a Nanjing-based archeology expert, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Ni suggested that current laws be amended to impose harsher penalties to increase the cost of committing a crime.

“Although China has removed the death penalty for theft, doubling or even tripling the jail sentence and fines could help prevent theft,” Ni said, noting the police should also take greater responsibility in protecting and investigating theft.

High-tech surveillance equipment, which will be set off in the event of an attempted theft, could also help monitor the site, Ni said.

Yinxu is known for oracle bone scripts and the “Houmuwu Quadripod,” an ancient Chinese sacrificial utensil. Yinxu covers an area of 36 square kilometers and was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2006.