Archaeologists have discovered an elevated deck believed to be the foundations of a barn dating back 2,000 years in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The 170-meter-long and 21-meter-wide structure is located in the ruins of a border town of the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-25 AD), spanning 110,000 square meters in Yuquan District, regional capital Hohhot. The excavation is a joint effort of the regional research institute for cultural relics and archaeology and Sun Yat-sen University. A total of 16 grooves were found beneath the building floor, a structure built for ventilation and preventing humidity, said Liu Yang, head of the excavation team, adding that bug and moisture-proof pinewood was used to build the walls. Cellars, which are believed to contain grains, have been unearthed from the spot where millets were found.
