Beneath the ruins of Genghis Khan's capital city in Central Asia, archaeologists discovered artif...

Smithsonian ^ | March 25, 2009 | Abigail Tucker

[SunkenCiv]

Of all the wonders in The Palace of the Great Khan, the silver fountain most captivated the visiting monk. It took the shape of "a great silver tree, and at its roots are four lions of silver, each with a conduit through it, and all belching forth white milk of mares," wrote William of Rubruck, a Franciscan friar who toured the Mongol capital, Khara Khorum, in 1254. When a silver angel at the top of the tree trumpeted, still more beverages spouted out of the pipes: wine, clarified mare's milk, a honey drink, rice mead -- take your pick... in 1235, Genghis's son, Ogodei, began building a city near the Orkhon River, on the wide-open plains... The ruins now lie beneath sand and scrubby vegetation, but lately there's been renewed interest in Khara Khorum. A book of new scholarship, "Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire," coming out in June details major finds that archeologists have made in recent years, which shed light on what life was like in the city as the Mongols transitioned from raiders to rulers. The traveling exhibit, at the Houston Museum of Natural Science in Texas through September 7, 2009, and then at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science for three months starting October 10, 2009, will showcase some of those artifacts for the first time on American soil.

[bert]

Meanwhile, Michelle hoes in the Victory Garden

[colorado tanker]

This one’s coming to Denver in the fall. Cool!

[SunkenCiv]

Gotta love those travelling exhibits!