The Xian Altar of Heaven is the oldest of its kind found in China to date. It was reburied shortly after its excavation.

The oldest-known altar used in Chinese state religious practice was unearthed, then reburied, this past summer in the city of Xian by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Uncontrolled development around a mysterious circular mound prompted a 30-day salvage excavation. Constructed as early as the Sui Dynasty (A.D. 581-618), the so-called Altar of Heaven is more than 1,000 years older than a similar altar in Beijing…Twelve equally spaced staircases, representing Chinese astronomers’ division of the heavens into 12 parts, ascended from the ground to the highest platform. The 12 staircases are the most obvious peculiarity of the Xian Altar of Heaven…