Oldest Section of China's Great Wall Uncovered

News February 21, 2025

Section of the Great Wall of China near Jinshanling
Wikimedia Commons
SHARE:

JINAN, CHINA––Global Times reports that Chinese archaeologists have unearthed the earliest known section of the Great Wall in eastern China’s Shandong Province. The Great Wall of China is actually a series of fortifications that were built in separate locations and on separate occasions over 2,000 years that eventually extended more than 13,000 miles. The recent excavations occurred around what is known as the Qi Wall, which was already considered to be the oldest in existence. New dating, however, suggests that the wall’s construction originates to the late Western Zhou Dynasty (ca. 1050–771 b.c.) and the Spring and Autumn Period (770–ca. 475 b.c.), making it 300 years older than previously thought. Initially, the barrier, which was built by the Qi State to defend its borders and important trade routes, measured around 30 feet wide but later grew into a 100-foot-wide barricade. In addition, archaeologists also uncovered at least two semisubterranean residences beneath the wall, suggesting that prior to its construction there may have been a small Zhou Dynasty settlement located there. To read about projectiles used to defend the Great Wall, go to "Around the World: China."

  • Features January/February 2025

    Dancing Days of the Maya

    In the mountains of Guatemala, murals depict elaborate performances combining Catholic and Indigenous traditions

    Read Article
    Photograph by R. Słaboński
  • Features January/February 2025

    Unearthing a Forgotten Roman Town

    A stretch of Italian farmland concealed one of the small cities that powered the empire

    Read Article
    Photo Courtesy Alessandro Launaro
  • Features January/February 2025

    Medieval England’s Coveted Cargo

    Archaeologists dive on a ship laden with marble bound for the kingdom’s grandest cathedrals

    Read Article
    Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
  • Features January/February 2025

    Lost Greek Tragedies Revived

    How a scholar discovered passages from a great Athenian playwright on a discarded papyrus

    Read Article
    Clump of papyri in situ in a pit grave in the necropolis of Egypt's ancient city of Philadelphia
    Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities