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The other great wall? Exploring Asia's Medieval Wall System

Archaeologists have excavated a medieval frontier garrison in Mongolia, suggesting some monumental walls on the Eurasian steppe were not built to defend against enemy attack, but rather to control the movement of people and display dynastic power.

The Great Wall of China may be the best-known, but it is far from the only system of walls constructed across northern East Asia. The diverse groups on this frontier built many physical barriers to serve as functional and symbolic borders for their empires.

Perhaps the least-known of these is the Medieval Wall System (MWS), a network of walls, trenches and enclosures stretching approximately 4,000 kilometers across parts of China, Mongolia and Russia. It was built in the 10th to 12th centuries AD by several dynasties, most notably the Jin dynasty, which was founded by Jurchen people from Siberia and northeast China.

To shed light on the poorly understood MWS, researchers from Israeli, Mongolian and U.S. institutions surveyed its 405-kilometer-long Mongolian section, known as the Mongolian Arc, and excavated at one of its enclosures. Their findings are published in Antiquity.

"We sought to determine the use of the enclosure and the Mongolian Arc," states lead author of the research, Professor Gideon Shelach-Lavi from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. "What was its function? Was it primarily a military system designed to defend against invading armies, or was it intended to control the empire's outermost regions by managing border crossings, addressing civilian unrest, and preventing small-scale raids?"

During excavation, the team was surprised to find that, in contrast to the thick stone walls of the enclosure, the structure running along the Mongolian Arc itself was not a wall at all, but rather a relatively shallow ditch accompanied by a pile of earth.

This ditch would not have been particularly effective defensively, but it could have acted as a potent symbol, marking the area under the direct control of the Jin dynasty.

It may have also helped channel the movement of people to gates where it was easier for them to cross. The dense distribution of forts along the trench line would have allowed those stationed there to monitor who was crossing and stop them if necessary.

This indicates that the Mongolian Arc, and possibly more of the MWS, was not primarily military but rather civilian in nature. Sections of the MWS were probably more concerned with managing the movement of people, animals and goods, rather than defense against large-scale external attacks.

Furthermore, finds from the excavation, including Song dynasty coins, many iron artifacts and a heated stone platform that was used as a stove and bed, indicate that significant resources were invested into the garrison's construction and maintenance.

Importantly, this implies the medieval powers of East Asia placed great value on civilian, not just military, infrastructure on their frontiers, willing to invest significant resources to publicly display their power and facilitate trade across the steppe.

It also has implications for our understanding of how ordinary people lived in such a harsh, remote environment.

"Considerable investment in the garrison's walls, as well as in the structures within them, suggests a year-round occupation," concludes Professor Shelach-Lavi. "Future analysis of samples taken from this site will help us better understand the resources used by the people stationed at the garrison, their diet, and their way of life."