Excavation work at watchtowers unearths weapons, inscriptions and food remains, offering insights into the daily routines of Ming-era garrisons, Yang Feiyue reports.

Perched atop the Niujijiaobian (Ox Horn Edge) peak in the Huairou district of northeastern Beijing stands a sentinel of stone and brick, enduring the lash of the mountain wind.

Just months ago, the hollow watchtower, its mid-level featuring a central chamber surrounded by a corridor, lay buried under roughly five meters of debris, before a meticulous monthslong excavation by the Beijing Institute of Archaeology brought it back to light.

Marked as Watchtower 117 of the Jiankou Great Wall, it spoke volumes about Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) engineering and the lives of the soldiers who manned it, according to Shang Heng, associate research fellow at the Beijing Institute of Archaeology.

"The most surprising element is the large footing at the base of the watchtower. On the southeast corner, this footing extends outward in 15 distinct layers. It's massive. This discovery means the total height of the watchtower post-excavation is nearly double what we initially estimated," Shang explains, adding that the watchtower features the largest such footing discovered in the Jiankou section.

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"This fully demonstrates the technical approach to the Great Wall's construction: to minimize cutting into and altering the natural mountain terrain."

Jiankou is a rugged and largely unrestored section of the Great Wall that was built along steep mountain ridges. It is known for its dramatic scenery, sharp angles, and original brickwork. Because Jiankou has been left mostly in its natural state, it offers a rare glimpse into the Great Wall's authentic historical conditions.

Strategically placed at the highest point where the wall turns, Watchtower 117 features access gates on its western and southern sides.

"Given the steep terrain, the western gate is particularly imposing, with large stone steps and a raised platform leading to it," Shang adds.

Within the central chamber of Watchtower 117, archaeologists uncovered a perfectly preserved stele commemorating its establishment in the first year (1573) of Emperor Wanli's rule during the Ming Dynasty.

Made of bluestone, the rounded-top tablet stands 95 centimeters tall, 50 cm wide, and 9 cm thick. Its 253 characters of inscribed regular script, framed by intricate vine and grass patterns, serve as more than just a marker.

"This stele not only precisely dates the construction of Watchtower 117 but also provides crucial materials for studying the organizational structure and management of Great Wall construction projects, the formation and evolution of the Jiankou section in the Ming Dynasty, and serves as a benchmark for understanding the rel

ationship between the architectural form and age of hollow watchtowers," Shang notes.

It is the second such Wanli-era stele found at Jiankou, with the first discovered at Watchtower 156 in the west section.

Watchtower 117 is a key finding from the fifth phase of archaeological work on the Jiankou section.

The project was approved by the Beijing Municipal Cultural Heritage Bureau and the National Cultural Heritage Administration.

It is intended to support conservation work on this section of the Great Wall by providing a scientific basis for formulating protection plans, while also contributing to a deeper exploration and understanding of the Wall's historical and cultural significance.

The project focused on the eastern segment from watchtowers 117 to 122 along the ridge at Xizhazi village in Huairou.

From March to October, archaeologists excavated watchtowers 117, 118 and 119, as well as the connecting walls.

This year's excavation work yielded over 300 artifacts, including weapons, architectural components, daily utensils, and a wealth of carbonized remains.

Moving west from Watchtower 117, the findings at Watchtower 118 breathe with everyday life.

This vaulted, hollow watchtower is well-preserved and contains the largest kang (heated brick bed) discovered so far at Jiankou, Shang says.

More captivating were two inscribed bricks. One bears the characters "North Kiln: 550 jin (traditional Chinese unit of weight of 500 grams)", the other, "One Row: 79 jin". These words were scratched into the wet clay before firing, likely using a stick or nail.

"These bricks served as identifiers, but they record weight, not quantity, which challenges our assumptions," Shang notes.

"It might offer new material for researching the production organization of Ming-era brick kilns."

On a brick used in a floor atop the tower, archaeologists found a whimsical poem, also written pre-firing.

"The poem's theme revolves around wine and melancholy, ending with 'a 3-year-old child's hair turns white'," Shang reveals.

"This graffiti suggests the craftsmen weren't illiterate. They possessed a certain level of cultural refinement," he says.

These findings make Watchtower 118 a record-breaker for holding the most inscribed bricks found at Jiankou, according to the archaeological team.

The excavation of Watchtower 119, at the foot of "Ox Horn Edge", reveals a time closer to the Ming Dynasty's end.

Though half-collapsed, its central chamber surrounded by a corridor remains. Among its debris lay a cast-iron cannon from the fifth year (1632) of the last Ming Emperor Chongzhen's reign.

The cannon measures 89.2 cm long, with a caliber of 8.5 cm and a barrel depth of 73.5 cm, weighing approximately 112 kilograms. Inscriptions, though corroded, are still legible.

"This is the first large firearm unearthed at Jiankou," Shang says.

"It not only provides crucial evidence for studying Chinese cannon-casting technology but, more importantly, shows clear characteristics of Western-style 'red barbarian' cannons — a smaller caliber and longer barrel. This is significant material for studying the exchange of Sino-Western military technology," he explains.

Matching the cannon's dimensions to existing artillery platforms on the wall confirmed it was operational equipment for the defenders.

If architecture and weapons form the Great Wall's "skeleton", the most significant finds have come from archaeobotany, revealing its "flesh and blood".

Using flotation of the earth from the watchtowers' hearths — where soil from the hearths is mixed with water to separate the lighter ash and burnt seeds from the heavier materials — researchers yielded a trove of carbonized plant remains, and lab analysis later identified nine types of crops and 25 wild species among them.

"These seeds allow us to reconstruct life on the Jiankou Great Wall," Shang explains.

First, they reveal the garrison's diet, which primarily comprised wheat and millet from local dryland farming, supplemented by diverse legumes and other grains, showing a rich and adaptable food structure, he says.

Second, analysis of charcoal indicates fuel sources like pine and chaste trees, reflecting the local environment and use of resources.

The medicinal herbs point to healthcare strategies for trauma, chronic illness, and disease prevention, shedding light on the complexity of Ming military logistics and medicine.

The findings illustrate the resilience and complexity of the frontier military economy, Shang says.

Additionally, radiocarbon dating of the crop remains indicates continuous human activity and cooking at the site from the late Ming through the mid-to-late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

"This addresses a common question about the Qing attitude toward the Great Wall," Shang points out.

"The general belief is that the Qing did not maintain it, leading to its abandonment. But here at remote Jiankou, people were still living and using these structures well into the mid and even late Qing period. This extends our understanding of the Great Wall's active timeline."

Complementing the plant evidence are animal bones from Watchtower 117, featuring 53 specimens from animals, such as donkeys, pigs, cattle and roe deer. Cut marks from butchery on 22 of the bones indicate they were food waste.

"The animal bones show the garrison's menu included not just domesticated animals but also wild game, likely hunted locally," Shang says, suggesting meals of stews or perhaps even roasts over a fire.

This project represents a significant shift, fully integrating archaeological research with heritage conservation from the outset, cultural heritage officials say.

The Jiankou Great Wall is one of Beijing's significant archaeological achievements in recent years.

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Over the past five years, more than 400 archaeological excavation projects have been carried out in the Beijing area, covering a total area of over 400,000 square meters, says Liu Zhengpin, an official from the Beijing Municipal Cultural Heritage Bureau.

Important archaeological findings have been made, which have substantially enhanced the academic influence and public engagement of Beijing's archaeological work.

Liu emphasizes that the principle of "conservation first" must be consistently upheld, and calls for systematically developing and improving the framework for the protection of underground cultural relics, strengthening exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, fostering cultural confidence, and effectively enhancing the reach and influence of Chinese civilization.

Shang believes that putting archaeology at the forefront helps deepen the preliminary investigation for the conservation project and thus provides a solid scientific foundation for targeted preservation measures.

"This seamless integration of excavation and conservation minimizes disciplinary gaps and allows for more effective protection of the Great Wall site," he says.

Contact the writer at yangfeiyue@chinadaily.com.cn