Beijing: Chinese archaeologists have uncovered previously unknown Great Wall ruins in a mountainous area in northeast China, state media reported.
The bricks and stones that once formed a section of the wall were found in mountains in Suizhong County in Liaoning province, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing a report by provincial relics and mapping authorities.
The section of walls was rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty from 1368-1644, but substantial parts had disappeared or eroded after years of neglect, the report said.
Generations of local farmers did not know the bricks and stones were part of the Great Wall and sometimes used them to build houses, local authorities said, adding no measures were ever put in place to protect the walls.
The earliest incarnation of the Great Wall was built more than 2,000 years ago to defend against invading northern nomadic tribes. But most sections still standing were rebuilt in later dynasties.
In recent times, the wall has suffered extensively at the hands of modern development, with parts of it destroyed to make way for roads and other forms of construction.
IANS
First Published: Sunday, May 08, 2011, 10:20