The Director General of Archeology Prof. Anura Manatunga says that he signs documents sanctioning about 10 court cases on a daily basis against destruction of archeological sites across the country.

Manatunga, addressing an event in Colombo, has stated that the destruction of archelogocal siteswas taking place at an unprecedented rate and corrective action must be adopted with immediate effect.

He said this trend had not been identified until his appointment as the head of the Department of Archeology.

"Although bilateral agreements with foreign countries prevent the sale of antiquities with archeological value in overs markets, there is no restriction for their sale in black markets," the Archeological Department Director General said.

He also pointed out that attention must be paid to bring back Sri Lankan antiquities currently kept in foreign countries. "The majority of them was taken away during the Biritish rule in Sri Lanka and we must embark on legal proceedings to establish our ownership over these items," he added.