Chinese archaeologist who discovered 5,000-year-old city pleads guilty to corruption

Liu Bin, a Chinese archaeologist credited with discovering a vast 5,000-year-old prehistoric city that rewrote the history of Chinese civilisation, has pleaded guilty to taking bribes and embezzlement.The celebrated academic, who discovered the Liangzhu ruins – a Unesco World Heritage site in eastern China’s Zhejiang province – and long oversaw its excavation and heritage nomination, accepted the charges, according to news outlet Southern Weekly.During a court hearing in Zhejiang on May 20, Liu was accused of using his position to help specific organisations and individuals secure and execute contracts for cultural relics protection and archaeological survey projects between 2009 and 2021.