Archaeologists discover 800-year-old pieces of city walls, gates in China

The walls and gates have been confirmed as dating from the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) to Qing Dynasty (1644- 1912).

Archaeologists in China have discovered 800-year-old sections of city walls and gates belonging to a once-popular military fortress in the southwest Chongqing municipality.

This photo taken on September 29, 2017 shows a worker on the roof of an enclosed garden in Nanjie village, with apartment buildings outside the village in Linying county seen behind, in China's central Henan province. (AFP)

An archaeological dig was jointly launched at Baidi township in February by the Cultural Heritage Research Institute of Chongqing and the Cultural Relic Management Office of Fengjie County.

Baidi township, located in Fengjie County, was once a very important military fortress.

Over the first six months, twenty sections of city walls, gates, defence towers and armouries have been found at the site,state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Chongqing Cultural Heritage Research Institute as saying.

The walls and gates have been confirmed as dating from the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) to Qing Dynasty (1644- 1912).

More than 300 relics, mainly iron weapons and some ceramic, copper and stone artifacts, have also been unearthed, the report said.

The project has identified the layout of the town. Other sites discovered outside Baidi have shown that a complete defence system existed at that time, the institute said.