An ancient well uncovered in Yangquan City, North China's Shanxi Province Photo: Screenshot of a video posted by Chinanews.com

An ancient well that dates back more than 2,000 years ago has been excavated by local archaeologists in Yangquan, North China's Shanxi Province, according to the Shanxi Academy of Archaeology on Tuesday.

"The well is the largest and best preserved well from the Warring States Period [475BC-221BC] in China," Zheng Haiwei, an official of a local cultural relics center, said to Chinanews.com.

"After a comprehensive study, we found that the ancient well was constructed in the Warring States Period and abandoned in the Western Han Dynasty [206BC-AD25]," he added.

The well is a nine-sided wooden support structure with a residual depth of 9 meters and an inner diameter of 4.5 meters at the upper mouth. 

It is located 570 meters away from the northern wall of Pingtannao Ancient City of Warring States Period. 

The discovery of the ancient well is of great significance to the study of masonry technology of wells in the Warring States Period, as well as the study of early wooden architecture, and provides more information about Pingtannao Ancient City during the Warring States Period.

The excavation was jointly carried out by Shanxi Academy of Archaeology and the Cultural Relics Management Center of Yangquan City.