An aristocratic tomb of a woman dressed in a yellow silk cloak from 1,000 years ago has been discovered in the remains of a fortress in Mongolia.

The archaeological find provides further insight into burial and embalming procedures in an empire that flourished 1,000 years ago, according to LiveScience.

The Genghis Khan connection

Archaeologists found the tomb by accident while investigating a site in northeastern Mongolia. The fort, known as Khar Nuur, was built sometime between the 10th and 12th centuries, during the Kitan-Liao Empire, which held large swaths of central and eastern Mongolia at the time. The fort was part of a “long wall” that stretched across the countryside.

After his empire fell in 1125, the Mongol (Mongolian) Empire followed, beginning in 1206 and led by Genghis Khan (also known as Genghis Khan). The fort itself “stands as a poignant symbol of identity, memory and strength in a time of transition,” according to a statement from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Why are archaeologists talking about a surprise discovery?

“The focus of our research is a wall, about 800 kilometers long, the fortifications and other structures associated with it,” said study co-author Gideon Shelach-Lavi, professor of East Asian Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, in Live Science via email. “The initial discovery of this tomb was a surprise, as was the fact that the tomb was not looted (most tombs in this area had been looted in ancient times).

The tomb was hidden within the enclosure of one of the fortress walls. Radiocarbon dating of the “well-preserved” skeleton revealed that the deceased was a woman who died between the ages of 40 and 60. She was buried in a coffin, wearing a yellow silk mantle and additional silk cloths were placed under her head.

Remarkable wealth

“The richness of the tomb, not only in terms of the quantity of grave goods but also in terms of their diversity, suggests that the old woman buried in it belonged to the elite and was an important figure in the local community,” Shelach-Lavi said. . “The tomb itself is relatively small, but the number of objects found within it is large [σύγκριση] with other tombs of the same period”.

For example, archaeologists discovered a large quantity of beads, some of which were of non-local origin, as well as silk fabrics, gold jewelry, copper vessel fragments, and a silver cup inside the woman’s grave. The items were placed inside a coffin made of Marbury wood, which is not found locally, according to the study.

“[Αυτό] suggests an accumulation of prestige jewelry during her lifetime,” Shelach-Lavi said. “All this suggests that [είναι] a woman who held a high position in local society during her lifetime and received special honorific treatment after her death. [επίσης] it shows an extensive network of exchange that we did not know about, and this may be important for understanding the background to the rise of Genghis Khan and the Mongol empire.”