The Biggest Archaeological Discoveries and Sites in Mongolia
- Shoroon Bumbagar
Mongolian and Kazakhstani joint team discovered the tomb of a great aristocrat of the ancient Uyghur nomadic tribe date back to the late 6th to early 7th century AD at Shoroon Bumbagar of Bayannuur Soum in Bulgan Province in 2011. At that time, the Uyghur Kingdom existed in Mongolian territory. It is very rare that the tomb was not looted in its entirety. During the excavation, it was determined that the mausoleum consisted of a gate, a hut, four households, a collar, a mausoleum, and a pile of dirt above the tomb. The tomb was rich in artifacts, total around 500 including about 170 gold items, more than 100 pottery items, about 100 wood carvings and metal items, and bronze and silver items. This tomb clearly represents foreign relations of 7th Century Nomads.
2. Burial of Noyon Mountain
The tomb of the Xiongnu period in Noyon Mountain, Tuv province, is considered to be one of the major archeological discoveries of the 20th century. In 1924-1925, a Mongolian-Tibetan exploration team led by PK Kozlov discovered about 200 burials of Hunnu Empire on Noyon Mountain and excavated very rare historical artifacts from Tomb 6. Most of the objects from Noyon Uul are now in the Hermitage Museum, while some artifacts unearthed later by Mongolian archaeologists are on display in the National Museum of Mongolian History, Ulaanbaatar.
3. Bilge Khan and General Kul Tegin complex
The memorial complex dedicated to Kultegin, the famous leader of the Eastern Turkic Kingdom, is located 60 km north of Erdenezuu Monastery in Kharhorin, in the Tsaidam valley of Khashaat soum, Arkhangai aimag. This monument has been studied for more than 100 years as a name under Khushuu Tsaidam monument, Orkhon valley monument, Kultegin inscription, Bilge khaan monument and so on. There are over 40 runic stelae in Mongolia and about 10 of them are located only in the Orkhon Valley; that is why it was named Orkhon Inscription. Kultegin was the second son of Elteress. The Tureg dominated in Mongolian territory in the 6th and 8th centuries.
