Thursday, May 10, 2007

Great Wall section discovered



BEIJING (AFP) - Chinese archaeologists have discovered a section of the Great Wall straddling the Mongolian border that is the northernmost remnant of the landmark yet found, state media reported Wednesday.

The remnants of the wall, found in the Bayannur district of China's Inner Mongolia region, measures 2.3 metres (7.5 feet) wide and about 1.15 metres high, the Beijing News reported.

Built 2,100 years ago during the Han dynasty, the section also would likely be one of the oldest sections of the wall, which was begun in the reign of the emperor Qin Shi Huang, which began in 221 B.C.

The wall, constructed of stones, was found by a joint team headed by the People's University's School of History, the paper said. No other details were provided.

Built and rebuilt over the centuries, the Great Wall was intended as a defence against northern barbarians.

Less than 2,500 kilometres (1,600 miles) remain of the original 6,300-kilometre structure, one of China's top tourist attractions and a World Heritage Site.

6 comments:

C's Mom said...

Cool. I love that kind of discovery.

4D said...

Wow...I am so looking forward to seeing it one day in person.

Keep smilin!

JMCS said...

Wow, isn't that amazing! That's very cool.

Hugs,
Jonni
www.journeytosofia.com

redmaryjanes said...

Very Interesting. I didn't realize that so much of it was gone.

Anonymous said...

LOL, I thought you were referring to our agency when I saw the headline!

I agree, very cool.

Anonymous said...

This is great info to know.