Academic prudence

Top archeologists are confident that what was excavated in Anyang, Henan province, is the tomb of Cao Cao (155-220), warlord and penultimate chancellor of the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25-220).

The discovery immediately made it to the list of the "Top Six" new archeological findings of 2009, compiled by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The country's top archeologists, sent from the academy to verify the findings of another team of archaeologists in the province, said that they have more evidence to back up the assertion that the findings are of Cao Cao's tomb. But they have been modest so far, calling their judgment "prima facie".