The construction of the Great Wall began 300 years earlier than previously believed. This is evidenced by the discovery of ruins in the Chinese province of Shandong, which places the start of construction between the late Zhou dynasty (1046-771 BC) and the early Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), as reported by Efe.
The excavation that led to this finding took place between May and December last year in an area of 1,100 square meters in the village of Guangli and included the recovery of artifacts, animal bones, and plant remains, as reported by the Global Times on Monday.
The site is part of the Qi Great Wall, which stretches over 641 kilometers and is considered the longest and oldest section of the famous construction.
According to the expert from the Shandong Institute of Antiquities and Archaeology and head of the excavation, Zhang Su, the age of the walls is divided into an early and a late phase. The early ones would date back to the Zhou dynasty, and most of the late ones to the Warring States period (475-221 BC).
"This discovery advances the construction date of the Great Wall and places it as the oldest known section in all of China," stated Liu Zheng, a member of the Chinese Society of Antiquities, who believes that the new information "marks a milestone" in the research on the country's most famous monument.
In addition to the walls, two residences from the Zhou period were found during the excavation, showing the characteristic square foundations with rounded corners of the semi-subterranean dwellings of that dynasty, suggesting that there was a small settlement in this location before the Great Wall was built.
Another discovery, one and a half kilometers north of the Great Wall, was the "city" of Pingyin, a settlement mentioned in historical texts. "The proximity of Pingyin to the Wall indicates that it not only served as a defense mechanism but also played a strategic role in controlling crucial transportation routes," added Zhang.
The Great Wall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987, originally consisted of numerous disconnected sections built by small states to defend against invasions from the north.
It was the self-proclaimed first emperor of China, Qin Shi (221-210 BC), who decided to connect them, linking thousands of kilometers of sections that prevented Mongolian hordes of horse archers from easily accessing the empire.
Today, the construction spans over 20,000 kilometers across 15 provincial-level regions, including Beijing, the northern provinces of Hebei and Inner Mongolia, and the provinces of Gansu and Xinjiang in the northwest.