JAPAN/ MONGOLIA: JAPANESE ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE FOUND REMAINS OF GENGHIS KHAN'S MONGOLIAN PALACE

Record ID: 467585

  • Title: JAPAN/ MONGOLIA: JAPANESE ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE FOUND REMAINS OF GENGHIS KHAN'S MONGOLIAN PALACE
  • Date: 17th October 2004
  • Summary: (L!1)TOKYO, JAPAN (RECENT)(REUTERS) WIDE OF SHINPEI KATO, PROFESSOR EMERITUS AT KOKUGAKUIN UNIVERSITY LOOKING AT PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE SITE SCU (SOUNDBITE)(Japanese) KATO SAYING: "What we hoped to find were the reasons as to why Genghis Khan was able to create obtain such vast power and create an empire on the Eurasian continent by analysing the artefacts such as pieces of steel found at the site. But we found evidence that this palace site later became a mausoleum for the descendants of Genghis Khan. This has been confirmed because we have found the remains of places where sacrificial rituals were held all over the site" CLOSE OF MAP OF MONGOLIA SHOWING AURAGA IN RELATION TO ULAN BATOR WIDE OF (SOUNDBITE)(Japanese) KATO SAYING: "The feelings of the Mongolians must be taken into consideration and they would never permit foreigners to excavate the site of a figure they revere as god, so we have no intentions to search for the tomb or excavate it"
  • Embargoed: 1st November 2004 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: TOKYO, JAPAN AND AURAGA, MONGOLIA
  • City:
  • Country: Mongolia Japan
  • Topics: History,People
  • Reuters ID: LVADOLNSV9MWH76H7BL60DCH6TZQ
  • Story Text: A Japanese research team has found the remains of a palace on the plains of Mongolia they believe will lead them to elusive burial grounds of the great conqueror Genghis Khan.
    A team of Japanese and Mongolian archaeologists who found the site of Genghis Khan's (1162-1227) palace have unearthed artefacts which indicate the Mongolian warrior's elusive tomb may be nearby.
    The square-shaped complex built around 1200 is located some 150 miles east of Mongolian capitol Ulan Bator in the middle of a vast, grassy steppe.
    Buried among the ruins researchers found parts of steel instruments, porcelain shards as well as bones of horses which were burnt together with other symbolic items in rituals.
    Sacrificial offerings of horses, which were the fastest form of transport and one of the most valuable possessions of Mongols, were reserved only high-ranking people such as Genghis Khan and his descendants who expanded the Mongol empire to stretch from China to Hungary.
    "What we hoped to find were the reasons as to why Genghis Khan was able to create obtain such vast power and create an empire on the Eurasian continent by analysing the artefacts such as pieces of steel found at the site," said Shinpei Kato, Professor Emeritus at Kokugakuin University in Tokyo who headed the research project.
    "But we found evidence that this palace site later became a mausoleum for Genghis Khan and or his descendants.
    This has been confirmed because we have found the remains of places whe re sacrificial rituals were held all over the site," he added.
    The actual grave site of Genghis Khan has remained a mystery for centuries. Legends say the Mongolian leader's burial party killed all who saw the funeral procession going to the site as well as all of the servants and soldiers who attended the funeral.
    Kato believes Genghis Khan's tomb may be nearby because ancient texts say court officials commuted from the mausoleum to the burial site daily to conduct rituals.
    Description of the scenery around the palace in ancient texts also match the area around the site.
    But Kato stressed his group's aim was to find concrete evidence on why Genghis Khan was so strong and not specifically to find the tomb.
    "The feelings of the Mongolians must be taken into consideration and they would never permit foreigners to excavate the site of a figure they revere as god, so we have no intentions to search for the tomb or excavate it,"
    said Kato.
    According to Mongolian tradition, violating ancestral tombs destroys the soul that serves as protector and in the past, archaeologists have been forced to give up their quest for the grave due to protests.
    If researchers find the burial site, they may also unearth the resting place of 13 to 14 khan warriors, including the grave of Genghis Khan's grandson Kublai Khan, who became the first emperor of China's Yuan Dynasty.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2013. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register