Archaeologists in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region claimed to
have discovered the ruins of a military fort dating back more than
1,000 years ago in Tekes County.
Located in the Bostan Village on the northern bank of the Tekes
River, the military fort was a barrack of "Xiaoxiangjun", an army
unit equal to today's battalion, consisting about 300 soldiers, of
the Tang Dynasty (618-907).
Discovery of the military fort proved that the area had been
under the administration by the central authorities the Tang
Dynasty, said Lu Enguo, a research fellow with the Xinjiang Uygur
Autonomous Regional Cultural Heritage and Archaeological Research
Institute.
The military fort was named as Ancient Town of Bostan following
the name of Bostan Village.
The southern and northern walls of the Bostan town each is 206
meters long and its western wall extends for 162 meters. All the
three walls are well-preserved and stands five to seven meters
high. The eastern wall has collapsed.
The ancient town is square in shape and there were several
"Mamian"(horse face), a kind of fortification, are built outside
the western and northern walls.
"Mamian" is a kind of defense facilities that had been used
since the Tang Dynasty, said Lu.
Archaeologist also discovered large quantities of pottery
flakes, broken animal bones and wood scraps on the ground both
inside and outside the city walls.
All the relics found at the site belong to the Tang Dynasty,
said Lu.
Chinese archaeologists have discovered the ruins of another Tang
Dynasty town on the upper reaches of the Tekes River before the
Bostan town.
(Xinhua News Agency August 23, 2006)
