Genghis Khan's tomb?

[Mark]

Monday October 4, 11:30 PM
LEAD: Genghis Khan's mausoleum found by Japan-Mongolia research team

(EDS: ADDING INFO)
Japanese and Mongolian researchers have found what they believe is a mausoleum for Genghis Khan (c. 1162-1227), the founder of the Mongol Empire, in Mongolia, and expect it to provide clues to the whereabouts of his actual burial site, which remains a mystery, team members said Monday in Tokyo.

The team, comprising archaeologists from Japan and Mongolia, including researchers from Kokugakuin University in Tokyo and Niigata University in Niigata Prefecture, said they have found ruins of a mausoleum believed to have been built between the 13th and the 15th centuries in the Avraga site in central Mongolia.

The burial site of Genghis Khan remains unknown. He was buried, according to his will, without any markings to avoid grave robberies.

Rest at http://asia.news.yahoo.com/041004/kyodo/d85gmp2o0.html

[Mark]

A follow-up with a photo of the excavation is at:

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/...20041005f2.htm

Best,
MEH

[Michael]

I am curious about why they feel this particular site will provide clues to his actual burial location.

[Mark]

Tomb of Genghis Khan receives some TLC
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-12-28 00:43


A large-scale renovation of the mausoleum of Genghis Khan is underway in Inner Mongolia.

The tomb of the founder of the Mongol Empire of the Middle Ages is in North China's Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region.The project at a cost of 180 million yuan (US$22 million will hopefully receive 50,000 tourists a year, said Mengkeduren, head of the mausoleum's administrative bureau.

rest at

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english...ent_404061.htm

[Michael]

Well now, this latest article says that the Dalhut people have known where Genghis Khan's remains have been all along. So, what is the great mystery?

[Mark]

The Secret in the Steppes Thought Safe for All Time
Despite Misgivings in Mongolia, Explorers Hope to Find Site of Genghis Khan's 800-Year-Old Tomb

By Edward Cody
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, February 9, 2006; Page A20

ULAN BATOR, Mongolia -- On the vast flatlands of eastern Mongolia, enclosed by a two-mile wall in the form of an oval, diggers have uncovered tantalizing clues to the solution of one of history's enduring mysteries: the site of Genghis Khan's secret grave.

Finding the spot where the great Mongolian conqueror was laid to rest in 1227 by his famed horseback warriors would fill in a blank that has fascinated historians for centuries. Although he and his descendants galloped out of Mongolia to subdue most of the known world, Genghis Khan was buried without a monument or even a headstone, in keeping with Mongol belief that the dead should not be disturbed. Legend has it that the soldiers who carried out the mission were slaughtered to make sure the secret was safe for all time.

rest at

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...020802295.html

[RobRoy]

Would it even be possible to verify that a tomb, if found, was actually the Great Khan's? Within the article they state explicity that they will not dig up the remains of Temujin, but at the same time, how could they know it was his tomb, if they aren't going to excavate?

[Michael]

They must be expecting to find corollary evidence that would be associated only with someone of his importance. But there are some unobtrusive means of investigation that could be used to examine the details of an undisturbed burial site. That kind of investigation alone would reveal information about the royal Mongol culture of 800 years ago.

[RobRoy]

Originally Posted by Michael

They must be expecting to find corollary evidence that would be associated only with someone of his importance. But there are some unobtrusive means of investigation that could be used to examine the details of an undisturbed burial site. That kind of investigation alone would reveal information about the royal Mongol culture of 800 years ago.

What kind of evidence would prove convincing enough to determine a particular place to be this particular "lost" tomb?

[Michael]

Well, I suppose they could be hoping for "X marks the spot" or maybe an inscription on the outside along the lines of, "WARNING! Genghis Khan's Tomb! All Tresspassers Will Be Killed!"

Otherwise, I assume they would be looking for items that could be associated only with someone of royal lineage: jewelry, weapons, armies of statues, etc.