Ancient Relics Discovered at the Forbidden City
By Justine Lopez
Beijing’s Palace Museum unearthed numerous ancient relics dating back to the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). The historic relics were found underground in the west wing of the museum while construction workers were laying cable last year. However, their authenticity was finally confirmed on Thursday, China Daily reports.
According to Li Ji, the head of an archaeology department affiliated with the museum, the findings shed new light on the history of the structures during the Yuan, Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties.
"The broken tiles and porcelain pieces are direct evidence that they come from no later than the start of the Ming Dynasty,” Li said. "These three layers of relics indicate how layouts for buildings changed through time.”
"Basically, we can be sure it is from an important part of a Yuan Dynasty royal palace, but it's hard to say if it was on the central axis of Beijing at that time," he said. The Forbidden City currently stands on this axis.
The archaeological analysis is still in its early stages, but the relics will be studies further and small-scale excavations are expected to be conducted in the future.
[Photo via China Daily]
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