Before the Great Wall, Chinese rulers built a shallow ditch

A network of trenches, walls and enclosures built across the steppes of China and Mongolia 800 years ago seems to have been erected to control the flow of people, perhaps for tax reasons

By Chris Simms

29 May 2025

Archaeologists excavate part of the medieval wall system in Mongolia

Tal Rogovski

Long before the Great Wall of China was constructed, other monumental walls were built across the Eurasian steppes – but they weren’t designed to defend against Mongol armies. Recent excavations reveal that they were erected to control movement of people or demonstrate power, much like border walls today.

The Great Wall of China spans many thousands of kilometres, the longest stretch running some 8850 kilometres. This part dates from the Ming dynasty (AD 1368 to 1644) and served as a physical barrier to defend against Mongol raids.

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Unlike the Great Wall, which is – as the name implies – made up of large walls, the earlier system is a network of trenches, walls and enclosures stretching approximately 4000 kilometres across more northerly regions in China, Mongolia and Russia.

It was built between the 10th and 12th centuries by several dynasties, chiefly the Jin dynasty (AD 1115 to 1234), which was founded by Jurchen people from Siberia and north-east China, who were mainly pastoralists.

Gideon Shelach-Lavi at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and his colleagues had already surveyed and mapped the walls using satellite imagery and drones, but now they have studied a section running for 405 kilometres through what is now Mongolia and excavated at one of the enclosures.