Turkish, Mongolian archaeologists excavate tombs in Shovh Uul Mountain

Turkish and Mongolian researchers have been carrying out archaeological excavations in the graves of the Shovh Uul Mountain.

Excavations focused on the graves and monuments of medieval-period nomads located in Shovh Uul Mountain and Tuul River basin in the Altanbulag district of Tov province.

Kursat Yildirim, one of the project coordinators from Istanbul University, said that they initiated the project on the history of the nomads, and the history, culture, and art of the Turks and Mongols.

“We planned a 3-year project. In our first year, we are excavating Shovh Uul Mountain in a Turkish-Mongolian partnership as part of joint field studies,” he said.

Yildirim said the tomb they excavated in the Tuul River basin dated back to between the 5th and 8th centuries.

“The tomb may belong to the Juanjuans, Gokturks, or possibly the Uyghur period. It is a square-planned tomb complex measuring 10 meters by 10 meters,” he said.

This tomb is much larger than the others, he said, adding it has a unique tomb feature in terms of its size.

He said their main goal this year is to first determine the external plan of the monument and clean the surface soil.

“As we went deeper from the surface parts, horse and sheep bones were first found. These were immediately sent to laboratories for radiocarbon analysis,” he added.

As a result of the studies, the excavation report will be written in Mongolian and Turkish, reflecting the consensus of the parties, he maintained.