AssetID: 54826553
Headline: UNCAPTIONED: 'New Great Wall Of China' Excavated
Caption: 'New Great Wall Of China' Excavated. Archaeologists have been excavating a “new Great Wall of China” that stretches for over 4,000 kilometres. The excavations on a medieval frontier garrison in Mongolia are flipping everything we thought we knew about ancient walls on its head. The international dig has revealed that some colossal barriers stretching across the Eurasian steppe weren’t built to fend off invaders as per legend. The so-called Medieval Wall System (MWS) takes in Mongolia, China and Russia – and is now being hailed as a forgotten sibling to the Great Wall of China. The team, part of a Mongolian-Israeli-American research project called The Wall, surveyed the 405km-long Mongolian stretch – known as the Mongolian Arc – and excavated a fortified enclosure. The “wall” running along the Arc turned out not to be a towering fortress, but rather a shallow ditch and a mound of earth. The layout appears purpose-built to channel travellers and traders through designated checkpoints, where garrisons stationed in nearby forts could keep a beady eye on who was coming and going. Experts now believe these walls weren’t all about war, but were key tools of administration, trade and authority, helping medieval rulers manage their empires’ edge lands. With more sections still to be explored, archaeologists hope this long-overlooked marvel will finally earn its place alongside its more famous brick brother.
Keywords: Offbeat,Great Wall,China,Excavated,Archaeologists,stretches,excavations,medieval,frontier,garrison,Mongolia,ancient,walls,dig,barriers,Eurasian,steppe,Medieval Wall System,MWS,Russia,administration,trade,authority,empires,lands,history
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