Chinese archeologists are devising a way to re-erect an ancient pagoda which was knocked down by vandals earlier this month.

The nine-story, 13-meter-tall pagoda was built in the early Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in Shouyang County of Shanxi Province, north China. The second through ninth stories were pulled down with a rope and stolen by the thieves, who were several farmers from neighboring Henan Province, central China.

Precious stone Buddha statues in the pagoda were also taken by the farmers. Local experts said that the foundation of the pagoda was not damaged. They are trying to re-attach the broken stories onto the original base by attaching them to a wood pole inside the pagoda.

According to the local sources, the structure is known as the " shadowless pagoda," because it casts no shadow at noon on the Summer Solstice, which falls on June 22.

Police have detained the suspects and are investigating the matter.