John
04-23-2009, 06:49 PM
The Great Wall of China is 180 miles longer than previously thought, according to a new study.
The extra miles of the world-renowned ancient Chinese monument were uncovered after a two-year government mapping study, reports Sky News.
The study used mapping technologies such as infrared range finders and GPS devices to show extra portions of the wall - hidden by hills, trenches and rivers.
The newly-mapped parts of the wall were built from Hu Mountain in northern Liaoning province to Jiayu Pass in western Gansu province during the Ming Dynasty.
They were covered over time by sandstorms that moved across the arid region.
The newly found parts mean the Great Wall - which Chinese emperors began building 2,000 years ago to keep out Monguls and invaders - spans about 3,900 miles through the northern part of the country.
The project is to continue for another year to try to map sections of the wall built during the Qin and Han Dynasties.
Recent studies by Chinese archaeologists show that sections of the wall in Gansu are being reduced to "mounds of dirt" by sandstorms and may disappear entirely in 20 years.
They blame destructive farming methods in the 1950s that "desertified" large areas of northern China.
The extra miles of the world-renowned ancient Chinese monument were uncovered after a two-year government mapping study, reports Sky News.
The study used mapping technologies such as infrared range finders and GPS devices to show extra portions of the wall - hidden by hills, trenches and rivers.
The newly-mapped parts of the wall were built from Hu Mountain in northern Liaoning province to Jiayu Pass in western Gansu province during the Ming Dynasty.
They were covered over time by sandstorms that moved across the arid region.
The newly found parts mean the Great Wall - which Chinese emperors began building 2,000 years ago to keep out Monguls and invaders - spans about 3,900 miles through the northern part of the country.
The project is to continue for another year to try to map sections of the wall built during the Qin and Han Dynasties.
Recent studies by Chinese archaeologists show that sections of the wall in Gansu are being reduced to "mounds of dirt" by sandstorms and may disappear entirely in 20 years.
They blame destructive farming methods in the 1950s that "desertified" large areas of northern China.