近日河南省文物局向外公布西高穴墓为曹操高陵后，引起了各方媒体的关注(见本报昨日报道)，一代枭雄曹操之墓的传说多多，其中72座疑冢的传说流传最广，相关专家称此次发现可以否定该传说，并确定了曹操墓主身份。然而，学术界一些专家对“曹操墓在安阳”的结论提出质疑。

Doubts over Cao tomb's authenticity

This week, an excavation team in Henan Province, announced they'd uncovered the tomb of Cao Cao, a famous warlord who ruled northern China during the Three Kingdoms period. But, scholars and experts rose quickly to question the authenticity of the find, dismissing the evidence as unreliable.

A few years ago, local workers accidently unearthed the tomb while they were digging mud to make bricks. But they didn't report the find to authorities. Since then, the tomb has been raided several times.

No one knew the owner of the tomb until local authorities seized some stone tablets reportedly from tomb raiders. The tablets bear inscriptions of "King Wu of Wei," Cao Cao's title after his death nearly 18-hundred years ago.

However, scholars in Beijing are questioning the authenticity of the relics.

Yuan Jixi, Vice Director of Renmin University, said, "It doesn't make sense. Historical records say that the tomb is protected by 72 decoys, so where are the rest?"

Cao Cao is known for his Machiavellian nature, distrusting those around him. During his ascension to power, he made many enemies. Fearing the tomb could be desecrated, Cao Cao decided to set up decoys. That's why most skeptics are arguing the warlord would never allow anyone to locate his grave by simply reading the inscriptions of tablets.

However, an archeologist who has studied the relics at the site, dismissed the doubts.

Liu Qingzhu, archeologist, said, "History is written by people and therefore is inevitably subjective. However, we found another person buried over one hundred years later in Anyang. The inscriptions of that person say he was buried near Cao Cao's tomb. This is clear evidence, and is much more accurate."

The excavation team found the remains of a man in his sixties, and the bones of two women in their fifties and twenties, believed to be Cao Cao, his wife, and their female servant.

However, final results remain to be seen until DNA samples retrieved from the skeletons are compared with Cao Cao's descendants in his hometown.