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Here Lies Genghis Khan (The Search For Genghis Khan's Tomb)

KeyserXSoze

Gone But Not Forgotten
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itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=1313045&PageNum=0
Link is dead. The MIA news article (quoted in full below) can be accessed via the Wayback Machine:
https://web.archive.org/web/2004101....com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=1313045&PageNum=0


Archeologists discover ruins of Genghis Khan mausoleum in the central areas of Mongolia
05.10.2004, 05.40

TOKYO, October 5 (Itar-Tass) - A Genghis Khan mausoleum has been discovered in the central areas of Mongolia by a joint Japanese-Mongolian archeological expedition, the press here reported on Tuesday.

The scientists hope the discovery will help them find a place where Genghis Khan was buried. Genghis Khan was the founder of the Mongol empire that was established at the beginning of the 13th century and that put a yoke on vast territories of Asia and Eastern Europe. Genghis Khan's grandson Khubilai Khan conquered China and became the first emperor of the Yuan Dynasty.

On numerous occasions, the finds corresponded to descriptions that are contained in ancient Chinese and Persian chronicles. This gives the scientists grounds to believe that the ruins they came across in Avraga area, 250 km east of Ulan Bator are really Genghis Khan's mausoleum. The archeologists found incense-burners with a representation of dragon that served as the symbol of the supreme ruler.

Genghis Khan's burial place was kept top secret so as to prevent the plunder of the tomb. The scientists, basing themselves on other precedents, believe that the burial place is within a radius of about 12 km from the mausoleum. Full-scale excavations are to be carried out in 2007.
:cool:
 
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Update

edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/10/06/mongolia.genghis.ap/
Link is dead. The MIA news article (quoted in full below) can be accessed via the Wayback Machine:

https://web.archive.org/web/2004101...2004/WORLD/asiapcf/10/06/mongolia.genghis.ap/

Genghis Khan's mausoleum found

Thursday, October 7, 2004 Posted: 10:23 AM EDT (1423 GMT)

TOKYO, Japan (AP) -- Archaeologists have unearthed the site of Genghis Khan's palace and believe the long-sought grave of the 13th century Mongolian warrior is somewhere nearby, the head of the excavation team says.

A Japanese and Mongolian research team found the complex on a grassy steppe 150 miles east of the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator, said Shinpei Kato, professor emeritus at Tokyo's Kokugakuin University.

Genghis Khan (c. 1162-1227) united warring tribes to become leader of the Mongols in 1206. After his death, his descendants expanded his empire until it stretched from China to Hungary.

Genghis Khan built the palace in the simple shape of a square tent attached to wooden columns on the site at around 1200, Kato said.

The researchers found porcelain buried among the ruins dated to the warrior's era, helping identify the grounds, Kato said. A description of the scenery around the palace by a messenger from China's Southern Tang Dynasty in 1232 also matched the area, he added.

Genghis Khan's tomb is believed to be nearby because ancient texts say court officials commuted from the mausoleum later built on the grounds to the burial site daily to conduct rituals for the dead.

Kato said his group was not aiming specifically to find the grave. Still, he said finding it would help uncover the secrets of Genghis Khan's power.

"Genghis Khan conquered Eurasia and built a massive empire. There had to have been a great deal of interaction between east and west at the time, in terms of culture and the exchange of goods," Kato said in an interview. "If we find what items were buried with him, we could write a new page for world history."

Genghis Khan's grave site is one of archaeology's enduring mysteries. According to legend, in order to keep it secret, his huge burial party killed anyone who saw them en route to it; then servants and soldiers who attended the funeral were massacred.

Kato said an ancient Chinese text says a baby camel was buried at the grave in front of her mother so the parent could lead Khan's family to the tomb when needed.

Archaeologists have been forced to abandon their searches for Khan's grave in the past, however, due to protests excavation would disturb the site.

An American-financed expedition to find the tomb stopped work in 2002 after being accused by a prominent Mongolian politician of desecrating traditional rulers' graves.

In 1993, Japanese archaeologists terminated a search for the tomb after a poll in Ulan Bator found the project unpopular.

According to Mongolian tradition, violating ancestral tombs destroys the soul that serves as protector.

If researchers do find the tomb, they would also likely discover the graves of Kublai Khan -- Genghis' grandson who spread the Mongol empire to southeast Asia and became the first emperor of China's Yuan Dynasty -- at the same time.

According to ancient texts, 13 or 14 Khan warriors, including Genghis and Kublai, are buried in the same place.

Kato said he would step aside and leave the matter of how to proceed up to his Mongolian colleagues if the team discovered the tombs.

"We will consult our Mongolian colleagues and decide what the best next step would be -- we may have to escape back to Japan," Kato said, laughing.

"Excavation should be done by Mongolians -- not by those of us from other countries. It is up for Mongolians to decide."
 
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Update
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-12/28/content_404061.htm

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.

Genghis Khan was born in 1162 died at the age of 66 1227 in Northwest China's Gansu Province, when he was battling against the Xixia Kingdom,or Western Xia Dynasty 1038-1227, in an attempt to unify the country. His remains were taken to the Ejin Horo Banner on the Ordos Highlands and buried. Five hundred nomadic families of his clan were picked to stand guard at the mausoleum, who subsequently became the special group to defend the mausoleum of the great warrior for generation after generation. They were subsequently renamed the Dalhut people, which means "guards of the sacred mausoleum" in Mongolian.

When Japanese troops invaded China in 1937, the Dalhuts moved Genghis Khan's remains to northwestern Qinghai Province and the mausoleum was abandoned. His remains did not return until 1954 when the central government of New China rebuilt the mausoleum.

Since then, the Dalhuts had a formal site selected for making grand ceremonies.

The existing mausoleum covers an area of 0.5 square kilometres.

But despite the number of repairs and renovations, the tomb remained in an old, shabby state owing to its limited investment, and did not match the historic status of Genghis Khan.

So for years, local ethical Mongolians and personalities from all walks of life in Inner Mongolia repeatedly appealed help.In 2001, architects and archaeologists worked out a blueprint for the mausoleum's renovation and expansion, which is to be submitted to the State Administration of Cultural Heritage for approval..

Minor work has already has started on the tomb. Numerous hotels, shops and residential buildings situated outside the tomb's red tiled walls have already been moved to new designated area about three kilometers away and rows of new constructions in tune with the style of the mausoleum have sprung up, which include, among others, a four kilometre-long Genghis Khan Road, a 15 kilometre-long scenic road, a square named after Genghis Khan, and a museum on the history and culture of the ethnic Mongolian group.

"When the renovation and expansion project is completed, the Dalhut People will continue to take charge of guarding the mausoleum, which remains listed under the top State administration protection," said Chageder, former head of the mausoleum's administrative bureau who is from the Dalhut People.

""The renovation work is a good thing as it will be beneficial not only to the protection of the sites of historical interest but to locals, who will benefit from the development of local tourism industry," said Enkebayin, a herdsmen of the Dalhut People.

More than 400 local Mongolian herders pitched in to demolish some 10,000 square metres of housing around the mausoleum in five days from November 26 to 30.
 
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...and they are looking still...

The Hunt for Genghis Khan’s Tomb

For centuries historians and treasure seekers have searched for the burial site of history's most famous conqueror. New findings offer compelling evidence that it's been found.

But while the life of the conqueror is the stuff of legend, his death is shrouded in the mist of myths. Some historians believe he died from wounds sustained in battle; others that he fell off his horse or died from illness. And his final burial place has never been found. At the time great steps were taken to hide the grave to protect it from potential grave robbers. Tomb hunters have little to go on, given the dearth of primary historical sources. Legend has it that Khan’s funeral escort killed anyone who crossed their path to conceal where the conqueror was buried. Those who constructed the funeral tomb were also killed—as were the soldiers who killed them. One historical source holds that 10,000 horsemen “trampled the ground so as to make it even”; another that a forest was planted over the site, a river diverted.

Scholars still debate the balance between fact and fiction, as accounts were forged and distorted. But many historians believe that Khan wasn’t buried alone: his successors are thought to have been entombed with him in a vast necropolis, possibly containing treasures and loot from his extensive conquests.

Germans, Japanese, Americans, Russians, and Brits all have led expeditions in search of his grave, spending millions of dollars. All have failed. The location of the tomb has been one of archeology’s most enduring mysteries.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2 ... rrior.html
 
Meanwhile ... Researchers are trying to figure out how Genghis Khan died.
The story you heard about Genghis Khan's death is probably all wrong

Genghis Khan may have died of bubonic plague, and not from blood loss after being castrated or other causes bandied about over the centuries, a new study finds.

Genghis Khan, born Temüjin of the Borjigin clan in 1162, was one of the most famous conquerors in history. In 1206, he founded and served as the first ruler of the Mongol Empire, which, at the time of his death in 1227, was 2.5 times larger by territory than the Roman Empire, the new study's authors noted. His legacy has reached global dimensions: A study published in 2003 in The American Journal of Human Genetics suggested that about 1 in 200 men worldwide may be Genghis Khan's direct descendants.

While the conqueror's influence is well known, his death is shrouded in mystery. Genghis Khan's family and followers were instructed to keep his demise as their most hidden secret, since it happened during a vital stage of their war against the Western Xia, an empire the Mongols had fought for more than 20 years ...

To honor or sully Genghis Khan's memory, both friends and foes of the Mongols told a number of legends about his death ... One story claims he succumbed to blood loss after getting stabbed or castrated by a princess of the Tangut people, a Tibeto-Burman tribe in northwest China. Others suggested he died of injuries sustained after tumbling from his horse, fell in battle against the Chinese or died of an infected arrow wound during his final campaign against the Western Xia. ...

In the new study, the researchers suggested that all of these legends were likely invented well after Genghis Khan's death. ...

"Exciting, extraordinary causes of death are attributed to exceptional personages, when it is more reasonable to look for more common conditions, such as infectious diseases. In general, there is not sufficient evidence to support these legends." ...

The researchers focused on "The History of Yuan," a historical text commissioned during China's Ming dynasty. That work stated that, from Aug. 18 to Aug. 25, 1227, during Genghis Khan's last campaign against the Western Xia, he felt unwell with a fever that ultimately killed him within eight days after the disease's onset. Prior research suggested he came down with typhoid fever, but Galassi and his colleagues noted that there was no mention of other typical symptoms of that disease, such as abdominal pain and vomiting.

The scientists diagnosed Genghis Khan not only by looking at his clinical signs, but also by using information about the diseases that Mongol troops and their enemies were suffering from at the time, as well as modern knowledge about the onset times of communicable diseases. They found that his symptoms matched those of the bubonic plague that was prevalent in that era ...

The scientists acknowledged that such retrospective diagnostic research was inevitably limited by the lack of access to Genghis Khan's body; his burial site remains unknown. Still, "while we cannot be 100% certain about the exact cause of death due to these limitations, we can say that this clinical scenario is much more realistic and worthy of historical consideration than other way more far-fetched hypotheses" ...

FULL STORY: https://www.livescience.com/genghis-khan-death-cause-revealed.html

PUBLISHED VERSION: https://www.ijidonline.com/article/S1201-9712(21)00020-5/fulltext
 
... As you may already know, Genghis Khan's tomb has never been located. Several historians believe it is located somewhere in North eastern Mongolia, around a sacred mountain whose name I forgot. Recently, a French adventurer & historian asked for administrative authorizations to explore the area because he wanted to test his hypothesis about the location of the tomb. He was met with much resistance and denied the right to explore the area. Disregarding this refusal, he went there nonetheless, but his Mongol guide was adamant that they should leave asap, because according to the legend, among the locals lived the tomb's guards : people whose ancestors had sworn to defend the tomb, killing trespassers.

The French explorer found what looked like a tumulus on the top of mountain. Thanks to a drone, he noticed that the hill / tumulus displayed some Mongolian symbols made out of white stones. These symbols were consistant with medieval Mongol heraldry. So he likely had found something, but he could not investigate further without authorization or proper equipment. And as his guide was becoming more and more uneasy, he had to leave.

I know that the "Secret History of the Mongols" tells that all those who knew the location of Genghis Khan's tomb were slaughtered. But I find it very possible that some faithful followers were indeed tasked to protect the area where it stood, and where Genghis' heirs may have been buried too, close to their ancestor. ...
 
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Update : the name of the mountain where Genghis may have been buried is Burkan Khaldun.

The French archeologist I was referring to in my previous post was Pierre-Henri Giscard.

He filmed his expedition to Burkan Khaldun. The video might still be available somewhere, in French language. The interesting (and most convincing part) is at the end, when the two Frenchmen reach a mountaintop hill which looks like a huge burial mound. Although it seems unlikely to build a mound on top of a mountain (imagine the ressources needed to move the earth up to the summit), the Mongolian heraldic symbols are rather unmistakable.

The expedition (of only two guys !) took place in 2015 or 2016.

A negative point about this expedition is that apparently, Giscard never published anything in the academic press about this "discovery". Not a very "scientific" behaviour ! On the other hand, he did not spend much time on site, so I don't see how he could have published something significant ...

Source :
https://www.francetvpro.fr/contenu-de-presse/35214

(With a picture of the "mound" they found ... You may reply you have the same in Scotland ! )
 
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He filmed his expedition to Burkan Khaldun. The video might still be available somewhere, in French language. The interesting (and most convincing part) is at the end, when the two Frenchmen reach a mountaintop hill which looks like a huge burial mound.

This may well be it:


maximus otter
 
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