Great Wall restoration teams uncover trove of secrets

However, the stone grenades being stashed away in several watchtowers within a short section of the Badaling Great Wall suggests that they were likely commonly equipped along the entire length of the Great Wall, he adds.

Shang is among several archaeologists and cultural heritage preservationists from across the country, including Hebei province, the Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous regions and Shaanxi province, who engaged in discussions and exchanges about their distinct archaeological experiences at the seminar that was hosted by the Huairou district government and the Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture.

They concur that archaeology plays an important role in addressing the chronological classification of the Great Wall, deepening the overall understanding of the Great Wall's defense system, interpreting the techniques of its defensive structures, identifying the causes of deterioration of the wall, and enriching its knowledge.

Han Jinqiu, a senior researcher from the Hebei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, says that the recent years of work on the Great Wall in the province has been about filling in gaps in the chronology of the Great Wall, studying sections that have been recently uncovered and addressing certain previous misunderstandings.