Elite Grave Found in Abandoned Mongolian Fortress Reveals Rich History
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="schema:primaryImageOfPage og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.ancient-origins.net/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/Elite-Grave.jpg?itok=qAqh8wbd"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.ancient-origins.net/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/Elite-Grave.jpg?itok=qAqh8wbd" width="610" height="363" alt="Drone photo of the place of the discovery in the northeast of Mongolia." /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="schema:description content:encoded"><p>In 2022, a surprising discovery was made within the walls of an abandoned fortress in northeastern Mongolia, shedding new light on a historically obscure period. An international team of archaeologists uncovered an elite grave dating back to the post-Kitan, pre-Mongol era—a time frame that has been historically elusive. This discovery offers valuable insights into the social and political landscape of Mongolia during a period between the fall of the Kitan-Liao Empire and the rise of the Mongol Empire under
Genghis Khan.</p>
<h2>The Kitan-Liao Empire and the Forgotten Period</h2>
<p>The
Kitan-Liao Empire (916–1125 AD) once dominated vast regions of Central and Eastern Mongolia, establishing a sophisticated and far-reaching civilization. However, after its collapse, the historical narrative becomes murky, with few records and archaeological remains surviving from the intervening years before the
Mongol Empire’s ascendance in 1206 AD. This "forgotten period" is often overlooked in both historical and archaeological studies, creating a gap in our understanding of the region's past.</p>
<p>Professor Gideon Shelach-Lavi, a leading archaeologist on the project, emphasized the challenges in studying this period:</p>
<p>"Mongolia is a vast country, and relatively little archaeological research has been conducted in some of its regions. The area where the grave was found is archaeologically underexplored, and our project is among the first to target it."</p>
<div class="read-more-link"><a href="
https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/elite-mongolian-burial-0021272" title="RSS feed" class="read-more" rel="nofollow"><span>Read more</span>[/url]</div></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-section field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Section: </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="schema:category"><a href="/artifacts-0" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype=""><span>Artifacts</span>[/url]</div><div class="field-item odd" rel="schema:category"><a href="/other-artifacts" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype=""><span>Other Artifacts</span>[/url]</div><div class="field-item even" rel="schema:category"><a href="/news" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype=""><span>News</span>[/url]</div><div class="field-item odd" rel="schema:category"><a href="/history-archaeology" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype=""><span>History & Archaeology</span>[/url]</div><div class="field-item even" rel="schema:category"><a href="/history-0" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype=""><span>History</span>[/url]</div><div class="field-item odd" rel="schema:category"><a href="/ancient-traditions" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype=""><span>Ancient Traditions</span>[/url]</div></div></div><ul class="links inline"><li class="flag-bookmarks first last"><span><span class="flag-wrapper flag-bookmarks"><a href="/user/login?bookmark_login=1&destination=/?bookmark_login_nid=21272" title="Add this post to your bookmarks" class="flag flag-bookmark" rel="nofollow">Read Later[/url]<span class="flag-throbber"> </span></span></span></li>
</ul>
https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/elite-mongolian-burial-0021272
