Kublai Khaan’s Imperial Palace Discovered Under the Forbidden City

The Palace Museum in Beijing, best known as the Forbidden City, recently confirmed the discovery of porcelain pieces and broken tiles dating back to the Yuan Dynasty established by Kublai Khaan in the thirteenth century, thus solving one of China’s greatest mysteries; the location of the Yuan Palace. As it turns out, it was right under the three that followed it – in the center of the royal residence.

The relics have been lying underground, buried for more than 600 years, beneath the feet of museum experts. The museum told the South China Morning Post the relics had been unearthed last year, but testing to confirm their age has only just been completed.

The sprawling complex known as the Forbidden City was the location of China’s imperial palace from 1420, during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasties (1644-1911). Experts from the museum said in a statement that they had uncovered the foundation of the royal palace from the Yuan dynasty at an archeological dig site in the center of the Forbidden City. Archeologists had begun localized excavations at the site to learn more about its architecture and construction history.