China builds 1.5 km dam to protect dinosaur site

BEIJING, Oct 22 (Reuters) China has built a large earth dam to protect a dinosaur fossil site from being washed away by floods, state media said today.

Workers in China's northern Heilongjiang province tookthree years to complete the 1,450 metre long embankment, the Xinhua news agency said.

''The embankment could effectively protect the dinosaur mountain from threats of water erosion and floods,'' Li Jinshan, vice director of Jiayin Dinosaur National Geologic Park Administraive Bureau, was quoted as saying.

Thousands of dinosaur fossils have been unearthed from a mountain that adjoins the river forming the China-Russia boundary and 13 skeletons have been assembled, Xinhua added.

At least 100 more skeletons are believed to be buried there, archaeologists were quoted as saying.

''Every summer, rising waters and strong currents erode parts of the mountain, leaving dinosaur fossils exposed,'' Xinhua said.

''Many fossils have been washed away in the past.'' Reuters SG GC1618