The Forbidden City, home to China's imperial palace from 1420 in the early Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) until the end of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), has confirmed the discovery of relics from the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) that were buried underground in the heart of the city for more than 600 years.
Li Ji, head of the Archaeology Department at the museum's affiliated academic research institutes, said the relics were found under the west wing of the museum during work on laying an electric cable last year, but it had taken months to appraise them and confirm their age.
Li also said the foundations for construction work from the Ming and Qing dynasties were found above the Yuan relics.
"These three layers of relics indicate how layouts for buildings, changed through time," he said.
He added that no Yuan relics had been found previously because of "scrupulous urban construction work" in the Ming Dynasty.
But no large-scale archaeological work will be carried out on the relics, to minimize the impact on surviving ancient architecture.
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