Almost 1,000 years after it was lost, archaeologists have discovered a temple hidden in downtown Chengdu, China.

The Fugan temple was once a prestigious place of worship, but it suffered damage during wars, and all traces of it disappeared during the Song dynasty.

The researchers hope that its discovery could give clues to how Buddhism spread through China in the third century.

Researchers from the Chengdu Cultural Relic Research Institute discovered the temple's foundation, ruins of surrounding buildings, wells, roads and ditches, in downtown Chengdu. Yi Li, who led the excavation, told Xinhua: "We have excavated only a part of the temple's area, but already have a glimpse of its past glory."

As well as the foundations of the temple itself, the archaeologists also discovered around 80 ancient tombs that they believe date back to around 1600-256 BC.

Tools, utensils and building materials, were discovered, dating to the Song and Ming dynasties, which date back to 960-1279 and 1368-1644 respectively.

The team of archaeologists also unearthed over 1,000 tablets inscribed with Buddhist scriptures, and more than 500 stone sculptures, alongside glazed tiles.

The Fugan Temple was a famous place of worship that existed from the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420) to the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279).

The word 'Fugan' means 'feeling the blessing', and was chosen for the temple after Daoxuan, a famous monk in the Tang Dynasty prayed for rain outside the temple after a drought, and had his prayers answered.

The temple was damaged during several wars, and disappeared at the end of the Song Dynasty, around 1279.

But the researchers hope that its discovery could help to uncover the story of how Buddhism spread in China during that time, according to Wang Yi, director of the Chengdu Cultural Relic Research Institute.