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Doctor and jade collector David Anderson made the shocking discovery on a late afternoon visit to a remote mountainous village in northeast Liaoning province  about 10 days ago.
Along with other collectors, Dr Anderson had come to examine one of the famous Neolithic-age Niuheliang   archaeological sites, a collection of  16 spots where remnants had been found of a civilisation that flourished and  faded away more than 5,000 years ago. Specifically, they were interested in  the No13 area, an area untouched by excavation.
He had been there a few years earlier, and nothing seemed to have changed, even the short, scattered pine trees seemed the same - until he went up to the top of the mountain.
What looked like a gash in a burial mound caught his eye. 'There seemed to be an area where earth had fallen,' the doctor recalled, speaking later in his Central, Hong Kong, clinic. 'That's odd for a site 5,000 years old.'
When he reached the site he was astonished by what he found.
'There's this enormous hole down there; inside it looked very dark and deep,' he said, estimating its depth at 20 metres.
The cavity was partially filled in with stones. Several rocks, which had obviously been recently picked up in great haste, were scattered nearby, he said, in what he believes was an attempt to loot the site of its valuables.
Dr Anderson collects jade carvings from the Neolithic Hongshan culture.
The Niuheliang sites contain China's earliest known stone tombs, sacrificial  altars and temples.
Recognising its importance, the central government has applied to have the site added to the UN World Heritage list as 'the earliest, biggest, best-preserved prehistoric civilisation' in China.
The excavation of Niuheliang   began in 1981. What was discovered  stunned the entire archaeological community.
The sites contained relics from a highly civilised prehistoric society, and the 1986 discovery of a life-size painted head of a goddess with jade eyes, an intricately carved jade dragon and the clay remains of figurines led archaeologists to conclude China's first state emerged more than 1,000 years before the Xia dynasty (2100-1600BC),  previously  thought to be the first.
'The site also predated discoveries in the Yellow River basin, traditionally considered the cradle of Chinese civilisation,' said Guo Dashun,   a leading expert on  Hongshan culture, adding that the find was  rewriting the country's ancient history.
So far only four sites  have been fully excavated. The No13 site, a single stone burial mound that covers 10,000 square metres, is the biggest virgin site.
'A singular earth-and-wood construction on such a large scale is very rare,' Professor Guo said. Its diameter was measured at nearly 60 metres, three times larger than usual.
The professor, who accompanied Dr Anderson on the trip and reported the huge hole to the Chaoyang city government afterwards, admitted it was very difficult to guard Niuheliang.
The sheer size posed a huge challenge to the local government, which has few resources given the  impoverishment in the area. There are only two guards for each of the 16 sites, and most are elderly  farmers,  living under harsh conditions.
They share a  house no bigger than  108 sq ft, at the corner of the site. There is no electricity or water. They must  use candles at night and carry water from the river 2km away.
Professor Guo said there had been attempts to raid the stone tombs, operate clandestine coal mines and graze sheep and cows on the grassy hills.
In February, police arrested 26 people suspected of illegally mining and defacing the Niuheliang site, Xinhua reported. Prosecutors are also investigating 14 officials in connection with the case, it said.
'I would argue very strongly China has been negligent over this culture. They've got to show they actually care about this culture. But they're just turning a blind eye,' Dr Anderson said.
Xinhua has previously reported Niuheliang has seen increased encroachment by iron ore miners despite local land, forestry and cultural heritage authorities' attempts to stop them. The backfilling of soil at the mined areas had already started, the news agency quoted Chaoyang city's forestry bureau as saying.
Professor Guo has heard from local officials that they had known about the hole for years.
Dr Anderson said  locals had no real incentive to prevent exploitation of the site.
'There's an enormous amount of Hongshan jade flooding out of China, The tomb robbers are excavating the real stuff,' he said.  'The law is not working.
'This is an absolute disgrace. Under watchful eyes, the single most important untouched site has been blatantly tampered with.'
Heritage at risk
The Niuheliang collection of sites represents one of the nation?s most significant archaeological finds. Spread across a massive area are dozens of stone tombs, sacrificial altars and temples built by the people of the Hongshan culture, which formed the earliest civilisation on the mainland.
The Hongshan culture dates back
5,000 years
The number of archaeological sites on the mainland is over 400,000
The number that experts estimate have been hit by thieves is more than 130,000



Tombs from China's  first civilisation at mercy of thieves