Archaeology News: The Battleship Yamato; Chinese Archaeologists unearth earliest man-made cave houses

In archaeology news:

A group in Kure, Japan is planning to salvage artifacts from the sunken Battleship Yamato.  The ship, at 65,000 tons one of the largest of its class, sank in 1945.  

Via Asahi.com:

Kazushige Todaka, chief of the Kure Maritime Museum, more commonly known as the Yamato Museum because it has a replica of the battleship on display, is among the members. The city of Kure is joining the project as an observer.

The panel said an executive committee will be formed in April to start the drive to raise funds, which it estimates will run into billions of yen.

The Yamato lies about 350 meters below the surface, some 200 kilometers west of Cape Bonomisaki in southern Kagoshima Prefecture.

Panel members said they hope to at least raise the 2,780-ton main guns and the front portion of the hull, which they say bear distinctive Yamato characteristics. 

 

In other news, Chinese researchers are continuing to make headway in their efforts to uncover the roots of human civilization in the Yellow River basin.

Via The People’s Daily:

Archaeologists have unearthed the earliest man-made cave houses and privately-owned pottery workshops in China which date back 5,500 years. 

After

Qing Dynasty for sale…buyers wanted.

More commentary on the attempt by a team of Beijing-based lawyers to block the sale of two bronze statues looted from the Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan).  The group of 67 lawyers has filed suit in a French court in advance of the February 23rd auction of the items.  The bronzes are part of a collection formerly owned by the late Yves Saint Laurent. 

Some selected opinions from the participants in this drama:

Liu Yang, one of the lawyers on the case:

“We hope they stop the sale and order the owner of the stolen items to return them. These items belong to China and should return to us.  Prices of these items have soared beyond the reach of civilians and governments.”

Official statement from Christie’s Auction house:

“For each and every item in this collection there is a clear legal title,” Christie’s said in a statement…We strictly adhere to any and all local and international laws.”

Less inhibited Christie’s employee:

“If we had to give these two pieces free to China, we would have to hand back the [Ancient Egyptian] Obelisk on the Place de La Concorde and numerous paintings in the Louvre.”

Christian Deydier, an Asian art specialist from France who

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