Archaeologists in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region claimed to have discovered the ruins of a military fort dating back more than 1,000 years ago in Tekes County.

Located in the Bostan Village on the northern bank of the Tekes River, the military fort was a barrack of "Xiaoxiangjun", an army unit equal to today's battalion, consisting about 300 soldiers, of the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

Discovery of the military fort proved that the area had been under the administration by the central authorities the Tang Dynasty, said Lu Enguo, a research fellow with the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regional Cultural Heritage and Archaeological Research Institute.

The military fort was named as Ancient Town of Bostan following the name of Bostan Village.

The southern and northern walls of the Bostan town each is 206 meters long and its western wall extends for 162 meters. All the three walls are well-preserved and stands five to seven meters high. The eastern wall has collapsed.

The ancient town is square in shape and there were several "Mamian"(horse face), a kind of fortification, are built outside the western and northern walls.

"Mamian" is a kind of defense facilities that had been used since the Tang Dynasty, said Lu.

Archaeologist also discovered large quantities of pottery flakes, broken animal bones and wood scraps on the ground both inside and outside the city walls.

All the relics found at the site belong to the Tang Dynasty, said Lu.

Chinese archaeologists have discovered the ruins of another Tang Dynasty town on the upper reaches of the Tekes River before the Bostan town.

(Xinhua News Agency August 23, 2006)