Great Wall of China discovery has made archaeologists rethink its entire history
The Great Wall of China is one of the world's most famous landmarks. And its history just got a whole lot richer after one new discovery by archaeologists exploring the site.
Build along the northern border of ancient China and Imperial China, the landmark fortification was built to keep enemies out of the country from the so-called Eurasian Steppe region (which in this case is mostly modern day Mongolia).
Dating back thousands of years with the first walls built years before the birth of Jesus Christ, the massive 21,196 kilometre-long construction has watchtowers, barracks, and even operated as a border control to impose tariffs on goods entering China.
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Chosen as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, the fact it is still standing to this day (with a bit of help from restoration teams) has seen it labelled as one of the most impressive engineering feats of all time alongside the likes of the Pyramids of Giza.
And through the growth of technology in modern society, it can even be seen from satellite imagery currently in low Earth orbit around the planet.
Now, despite studying the monument for hundreds of years, discoveries about the structure keep on happening.
And the most recent has happened with a team of archaeologists exploring its hidden secrets in the Shandong province of China.
Studying the Wall in the Changqing district of the eastern city of Jinan, scientists have discovered a part of the Wall previously hidden from humanity.
And it's not just any section of the Wall. No, it's believed to be the oldest section of the Great Wall to ever be known to exist.
The section of the Wall is thought to go back 300 years earlier than we thought it existed, dating back to the late Western Zhou Dynasty (1046 BC to 771 BC) and the early Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC to 476 BC).
Excavating the potential find between May and December last year, the section of the wall - known as the Great Wall of Qi - played a significant role in the military strategy of China at the time.
Zhang Su, an expert from the Shandong Institute of Antiquities and Archaeology and head of the excavation, said: "The layout, location, and associated infrastructure of the Great Wall of Qi reflect the Qi State's advanced military planning and strategic response to external threats.
"Its close connection to Pingyin indicates that the wall served not only as a defence mechanism but also played a strategic role in controlling key transportation routes."
Liu Zheng, a member of the Chinese Society of Cultural Relics, added that the find 'advances the construction date of the Great Wall and places it as the oldest known section in all of China'.
The oldest parts of the Great Wall are roughly 10 metres in thickness.
Work to find other parts of the fortification will continue, with segments hidden underground over the thousands of years since the foundations were built.
Tom Earnshaw