ZHENGZHOU -- A court in Central China's Henan Province on Thursday sentenced two people for illegally excavating and stealing artifacts from cultural sites and ancient graves in the Yin Ruins, which are included on the World Heritage list.

Song Tao and Wang Weijun were sentenced to 14 and a half years and 14 years in prison, respectively, as well as being fined 200,000 yuan (over $31,000) each, according to the People's Court of Yindu District in Anyang.

The case dates back to 2017 when police found the two suspects excavating cultural relics from two houses in Yindu, in the Yin Ruins protection region.

The Yin Ruins are the earliest remains of an ancient capital city in China, which have been dated back 3,300 years to the Shang Dynasty (1,600 BC to 1,100 BC), also known as the Yin Dynasty.