208 BC

Events in 208 BC 1

• 246 BC – 208 BC Construction of the Great Wall begins Linking earlier walls into a unified northern defence Qin Shi Huang ordered the linking and extension of existing northern walls into a continuous defensive barrier against Xiongnu nomads. Hundreds of thousands of workers — soldiers, peasants and convicts — built the wall under brutal conditions. This early wall was largely of earth and wood; the iconic stone wall seen today was built by the Ming dynasty. The wall represents the most ambitious construction project of the ancient world.