Ancient Japanese lacquer lost

Misfortune strikes an excavation site in Hokkaido:

Priceless early examples of Japanese lacquer-ware, pottery, and other ancient artefacts have been destroyed in a fire at an excavation site.
The fire gutted a storage building where the items were being kept for protection during the winter.

Officials say the destroyed artefacts included examples of 9,000-year-old lacquer-ware which were believed to be the oldest in the world.

Posted by David on January 2, 2003 10:49 AM