Beijing, March 18 (IANS): The ruins of an ancient Chinese imperial palace have been found in China's Henan province, archaeologists said.

Chinese Academy of Social Sciences researchers said the Taiji palace complex covers 6,000 sq metres and dates back 1,700 years.

It was the centre of the ancient capital city of Luoyang in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) and Wei state during the three kingdoms period (220-280 AD), Xinhua reported Tuesday.

Liu Tao, a researcher at the institute, said the palace marked a new era in the construction of ancient Chinese capital cities.

The ruins of the palace were unveiled after three consecutive years of excavation by the archaeologists, Liu said in an interview.

Starting with the newly-unearthed palace, ancient capital cities were built in an axial structure with the main palace at the centre, symbolising the supremacy of imperial power, Liu said.

The ancient capitals were built with multiple imperial palaces earlier, Liu added.

According to historical records, the Taiji palace was built by Emperor Ming of the Wei state during the three kingdoms in 235 AD.

The excavation, which began in July 2011, was conducted by the archaeological research institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. A set of new technologies and measures, including three dimensional scanning and image restoration, were used during the exploration and excavation.