THE demolition of a residential development in Huangpu District was halted yesterday after contractors discovered hundreds of bricks dating back to the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties.

The district’s cultural relics authority identified more than 200 such bricks at Fu Yuan Li (Lane 60) on Zizhong Road, some of which were inscribed with the Chinese characters for “Fifth Year of Xianfeng” (1855) and “Shanghai City Wall.”

Demolition work was suspended to allow experts time to show the contractors how to spot the ancient building blocks in the event of there being others at the site, an official from the Huangpu publicity department told Shanghai Daily.