Journey to find the tomb of Genghis Khan

Although he spent 800 years after the death of the most famous emperor in the history of the Mongolian empire, his grave search activities continued. For this purpose, people not only deployed many new technologies, but also mobilized the help of Internet users around the world. Typically, amateur archaeologists have used Google maps built with satellite images for this purpose. Looks like they are getting close to the goal.

Genghis Khan

The Great King rests in the mountains of Khentii?

Finding the tomb of the founder of the Mongolian empire is still a dream that many people crave. Some want to be able to identify the cause of the death of the king, who conquered a large part of the globe, others who crave for treasures thought to have been buried with him, while others simply wish to obtain the "glory laurel" as the first explorer.

So far, the exact location of the tomb of Genghis Khan is still covered behind a layer of secret screen that cannot be penetrated. The famous medieval historian Rashid al-Din in his book "The Collection of Chronicles" wrote the following about the death of Genghis Khan: "Genghis Khan died in the territory of the West because of illness. disability ".

During the funeral towards the final resting place of Genghis Khan, soldiers killed all those who happened to witness the event. Following the killing of grave slaves, watchmen and executioners who murdered them could not avoid the same fate.

According to some legends, the tomb was later hidden under a horse-raising area, planted trees and even under the flow of a river - all for the sole purpose of ensuring security. Perpetual stay of Genghis Khan.

In addition, after the death of the great marshal, there is also a legend based on the Central Asian folklore warning of the death of anyone who dared to intrude on his rest. However, all the above-mentioned legends (not rare in the East) could not stop the hunters who were eager to seek treasure. For example, according to another legend, Genghis Khan's tomb was actually unearthed only 30 years after his death.

Almsgiver's Wall excavation area.

Some experts believe that the tomb of Genghis Khan should be found in Tuva, as it is the home of the founder of the mighty Mongol empire. The reason is that most historians judge, the ancestors of Genghis Khan or are from the Sayano-Altaia region (belonging to present-day Tuva), or in northwestern Mongolia (the area of ​​Lake Khuvsgul - is the birthplace of the native Tuva). Of course not everyone agrees with the hypothesis.

It is important to know that after being annexed to the Mongolian empire in 1207, the tribes living in the Tuva region were still very persistent in their struggle against the occupiers. For example, the chivalric Tumat people for the first time rebelled against the Mongols in 1217. They desperately fought against a large army led by Genghis Khan. After that, the tribe also suffered a few purge campaigns by Xicheng, the eldest son of Genghis Khan.

But even after the Tumat revolt was extinguished, a host of other tribes still fought against each other. The Genghis Khan who would have been able to finally suppress this wave of rebellion in 1225, was only two years before his death. All of these facts only increase doubts about the presence of the Tuva in the Genghis Khan defending force. The simple reason is that a "great occupier" like him could hardly be buried in the blood-soaked land of the indigenous inhabitants through a series of purges ordered by him.

The most logical is still the ability to search Genghis Khan's resting place in the areas of the tribes loyal to him. Based on the above statement, an international exploration team of US and Mongolian scientists focused their attention on the Khentii mountains in northeastern Mongolia (near the border with Russia).

Also here in the early 1960s, a mixed expedition of German and Mongolian Democratic scientists discovered many skulls, nails, tiles and the remains of a temple. Over hundreds of stone tombs are also found with iron armor, arrowheads but no trace of burial.

After the breakup of the Soviet Union, a Japanese expedition funded by the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper was present at this place. This event, despite being very much concerned and stirred by the press, the archaeological results are almost nil. In 2001, another expedition under the direction of former famous businessman Maury Kravitz from Chicago continued to "publicize" public opinion, although the Mongolian Government later banned the group from continuing its examination activities. close to the mountain above.

In an area dubbed Almsgiver's Wall, the tomb of a guard was excavated around the 10th century. Eventually, the survey was removed after a series of unfortunate cases. happened, causing a newspaper to have identified it as a curse from Genghis Khan's tomb.

The Khentii mountain range is believed to be the most likely place to bury Genghis Khan.

The prairie was stirred up

According to an assessment in a Newsweek interview by Albert Lin (also a leading expert of National Geographic-funded grave search project), the Khentii Mountains are still a full territory. mystery for the past 800 years. Just recently, it was discovered that the foundations of large-scale construction projects were in the period of XIII-XVI centuries. Specifically, archaeologists have found a large number of quite diverse artifacts such as arrowheads, ceramic products, etc.

Currently, this area of ​​more than 10,000 square kilometers is the place to patrol a series of unmanned aircraft, focusing on the ground with the help of modern radars. Not to mention a team of thousands of volunteers who have focused on studying these photographs from satellites. And the laboratory of the Institute of Telecommunications and Information Technology at the University of California (San Diego), experts are focusing on reconstructing high-resolution 3D images in this area. It is all for a single purpose - identifying unusual structures or unnatural geographical structures that are most likely to be tombs of Genghis Khan.

There is one more detail that the weather in this area often supports explorers and seekers. This is quite special for a country with a particularly harsh climate like Mongolia, when the lowest temperature in winter can be down to -40 ^° C, and summer can reach 38 ^° C.

Book cover of John Man's "Genghis Khan: Life, Death, and Resurrection".

According to author John Man in "Genghis Khan: Life, Death, and Resurrection" (Life, death and revival), finding the tomb of Genghis Khan in the future is not just about a major archaeological discovery, which can also carry a significant geopolitical meaning. Simply two countries such as China and Mongolia because the historical characteristics still consider the huge empire established by Genghis Khan as an integral part of their history.