Conny Waters - AncientPages.com - Archaeologists have made an impressive discovery of nine beacon towers of the Great Wall located in northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
The ruins of a Han Dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD) Chinese watchtower made of rammed earth at Dunhuang.
Sir Aurel Stein (1862 – 1943), British archaeologist, explorer famous for his archaeological discoveries in Central Asia, was fascinated by the history of the Silk Road, and these Chinese watchtowers. For many years, Stein conducted scientific and archaeological excavations in various Asian countries.
The beacon towers, built during the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.), were used to act as sophisticated milliary defense facilities along with the Great Wall during the Western Xia Dynasty (1038 A.D.-1227 A.D.).
Stein also visited the site known as the Limes Watchtowers, fortified encampments located north of Dunhuang in northwest China, along the edges of the Taklamakan Desert. They extend the wall completed by Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi (259-210 BC) in 214 BC as a barrier against the Xiongnu.
Under the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) the walls were carried over 1,600 kilometers to the west, to the easternmost edge of the Tarim Basin - where a series of mummies discovered in present-day Xinjiang, China.
The walls and beacon towers protected China's trade and military colonies and served as a base for expansion into Central Asia.
The towers, standing four km apart from each other, run from northwest to southeast in the Badain Jaran Desert and the Tengger Desert. In ancient times, the towers that connected the long walls would be ignited to alert soldiers when enemies approached.
Some of the remains of the towers are still well preserved while others are decayed rock piles.
The Alxa League located in Inner Mongolia has abundant remains of the Great Wall built in the Ming, Han and Western Xia dynasties, with a total length of over 300 km.
Written by Conny Waters - AncientPages.com Staff Writer
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