Ikh Khorig

The Ikh Khorig, or Great Taboo, is a 240 km² area in the Khentii Aimag (province) of Mongolia, believed by some to be the location of Genghis Khan’s grave. It has been carefully guarded for most of its history, and it is only since the late 1980s that the area has been open to archeologists.

Background

According to "The Secret History of the Mongols", Genghis Khan chose the area when he went hunting near the Burkhan Khaldun mountain in the Khentii Mountains of his homeland. He sat down to rest under a tree, and was so impressed by the scenery that he said: "What a beautiful view! Bury me here when I pass away."

It is not known whether he really was buried there, but the Mongols took several steps to give the impression that he was. The area, already made difficult to reach by a series of mountains covered in thick forest, was declared sacred, and off limits to everyone except the Darkhats, a group of elite warriors and their families, who were given the task of ensuring that no one else entered under penalty of death. The only legitimate reason for entrance was to bury a relative of Genghis Khan.

History

The Darkhats and their descendents faithfully carried out their assignment from the Khan’s death in 1227 until the establishment of the Mongolian People's Republic, a satellite state of the USSR, in 1924. The Soviets feared that if the region were made publicly accessible memories of Genghis Khan would encourage Mongolian nationalismFact|date=February 2007, so they declared the land a 'Highly Restricted Area' and cordoned off 10,400 square-kilometers of surrounding land. This adjacent land was used for storing nuclear materials and was the site of a highly secret MIG airbase. The Soviets built roads to the forbidden zone, but none within its borders. This would continue until the collapse of Communism in Mongolia during the mid-1980s.

Modern Excavations

The first archeological expedition to the region was the 1989 “Three Rivers” expedition, which was carried out by a joint Mongolian-Japanese team with the support of the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper. The team worked from 1989 to 1992 using ultrasound technology, which enabled them to find 1380 possible graves of Mongolian nobles.

Criticisms

Many Mongolians objected to the expedition, saying that it was immoral to disturb graves, or even wander around them. These criticisms caused the expedition leaders to stop short of actually opening any of the possible graves. Other criticisms came from archeologists who were skeptical of the number of possible graves that had been found. Archeologist D. Navaan is quoted as saying "I do not believe it. They speak about more than 800 burial sites. It can’t be true. The burial places of Mongolian Khans are sacred and must be hidden in a very secret place."

References

* [http://www.pakistanlink.com/Opinion/2005/Nov05/18/05.HTM Genghis Khan: A Little PR Problem? (Part II) By Dr. Rizwana Rahim]
* [http://www.mongoliatoday.com/issue/2/tomb_mistery.html Mongolia Today: In Search of Chinggis Khaan…]