Newly discovered gaps in Great Wall of China create more mysteries about why it was built
- Missing sections possibly due to rushed building amid Ghengis Khan fears
- Openings may have been used to monitor people in ‘border zone’
Archaeologists investigating the Great Wall of China’s “Mongolian Arc” have discovered large gaps in the wall were not the result of destruction, degradation or erosion, but were never built in the first place.
One explanation scientists have come up with for the missing sections is that the Chinese builders were working in haste, amid concerns about the threat posed by the rise to power of Ghengis Khan, according to a study published in the Journal of Field Archaeology in late December.
The Mongolian Arc – which stretches from northern China into Mongolia –was built sometime between the 11th and 13th centuries, far earlier than the most famous segments constructed during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), and is believed to have been used by the Jin dynasty (1115–1234), but that has not been proven conclusively.
The stretch of wall, and why it was built, is an enduring mystery.
Its structure is far less impressive than the Ming-era wall, with the researchers suggesting that, in some parts, the trench was the more formidable part of the structure and the “wall” was often piles of rammed, excavated dirt.
Historical documents from the time – around 1200, just before the 1211 invasion of the Jin empire by Genghis Khan – discuss the quick construction of a “defensive wall section”.