Hidden structures uncovered at site of ancient temple in China. Take a look inside
While the Great Wall of China may be the most famous feat of engineering by ancient Chinese people, the engineers of the time integrated creative and innovative constructions into many facets of their everyday lives as well.
Excavations at a temple archaeological site revealed some of these early constructions, even more sophisticated than researchers previously thought.
Dongta Temple Site sits in the center of the city of Jiaxing, where a massive tower once stood, according to a May 22 release from the government-owned news outlet Xinhua News Agency.
The temple was first built in the Liang Dynasty (starting in 502 A.D.), and the pagoda was later added in the Sui Dynasty (starting in 581 A.D.), officials said. It was rebuilt over time before it was eventually demolished in the 1960s.
Now, researchers are excavating the site to search for cultural relics and better understand how the site, which is situated on a soft soil layer with a high water content, was able to stand resolute for so long.
When excavations began, archaeologists uncovered what they called complex and advanced architectural techniques still buried in the soil, according to officials.
The construction workers dug deep pits around the planned base of the tower, then drove dense piles into the ground and rammed soil against them to create wooden frames, officials said.
One wooden frame looks as if it was built as a box with an inner, middle and outer layer of soil and wooden piles.
In the middle layer, archaeologists discovered 52 large cylindrical jars filled with compacted soil, officials said. The jars were more than 3 feet wide and about 38 inches deep, with a bottom inner diameter of 15 inches. Researchers believe the cylinders were buried to help support the foundation of the tower, but the exact role of the jars is still being investigated.
Experts believe this site is the first fully exposed and structurally complex tower foundation built in China, according to the report, representing the highest level of architectural skill during that time.
The foundation itself has not sunk in the more than 1,000 years since it was built, officials said, proving this construction was a successful design for security on soft soil.
Jiaxing is a city on the eastern coast of China, just to the west of Shanghai.
Baidu Translate was used to translate the news report from the Xinhua News Agency.
This story was originally published May 23, 2024 at 6:37 AM with the headline "Hidden structures uncovered at site of ancient temple in China. Take a look inside."
