Posted on 08/13/2002 7:07:24 PM PDT by Reaganwuzthebest
ULAN BATOR, Mongolia (AP) -- An American-financed expedition to find the tomb of legendary conqueror Genghis Khan has stopped work after being accused by a prominent Mongolian politician of desecrating traditional rulers' graves.
Genghis Khan overran much of Asia before his death in 1227, gaining a reputation as a mass murderer. But at home he is the hero of Mongolia -- a reminder of an era before this sparsely populated land was dominated by its giant Chinese and Soviet neighbors. He appears on the currency and his portrait hangs in the entry hall of the Foreign Ministry.
Yet Genghis Khan's grave site is one of archaeology's enduring mysteries. According to legend, in order to keep it secret, his huge burial party killed anyone who saw them en route to it; then servants and soldiers who attended the funeral were massacred.
The latest search -- financed by private investors and led by a University of Chicago professor -- announced last summer that it had found a possible tomb site.
But work stopped this summer after former Prime Minister Dashiin Byambasuren wrote to President Natsagiin Bagabandi accusing the team of driving cars over sacred soil and erecting buildings near a historic wall. Byambasuren said they had defiled the remains of the dead.
"I regret that our ancestors' golden tomb has been disturbed and the purity of our burial places tainted for a few dollars," said the letter, published in the Daily News, a Mongolian newspaper. "This place should remain pure for the souls after death."
The letter asked the president to investigate and called for expelling the team from the site. He expressed disappointment that the 3-year-old Genghis Khan Geo-Historical Expedition had commercial interests associated with the excavation.
The site, called Oglogchiin Kherem, is located 200 miles northeast of the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator in Hentii province, the homeland of Genghis Khan.
Digging this summer revealed a series of flagstones that covered 11-foot-long trenches. Horse teeth, animal bones and a human skull were found amid the rocks, though no grave has been sighted. Team members say the site may have been used for sacrificial rituals.
"We hope we can go back next year, but for now the future of the expedition is unknown," said historian John Woods, the expedition's leader.
Expedition founder Maury Kravitz has been trying to find the grave for 40 years and organized investors who provided $1.2 million.
The Mongolian government, which has already issued permits to excavate the site, has not responded to Byambasuren's letter.
The National Security Council demanded to know what commercial interests were at stake, and Kravitz said a documentary was being prepared, along with a movie about Genghis Khan's life.
Woods said he had tried to reassure Byambasuren about the expedition, noting that a majority of its members are Mongolian and that it had followed Mongolian law.
As to the treatment of graves, Woods said, "we handle them according to standard international procedures. And I don't think we have anything to apologize for.
"If it's a person's personal opinion that people who are buried should not be disturbed, I have no answer for that."
Woods said investors don't expect to profit from the site itself, but will raise money abroad from the movie and documentary.
In 1993, Japanese archaeologists terminated a search for the tomb after a poll in Ulan Bator found the project unpopular. According to Mongolian tradition, violating ancestral tombs destroys the soul that serves as protector.
"Genghis was the greatest khan of them all, and I pray that his soul will protect Mongolia," said Batulga Badral, a student. "The grave should remain a secret, and the expedition should change its goals and find something else to study."
Genghis Khan united warring tribes to become leader of the Mongols in 1206. After his death, his descendants expanded his empire until it stretched from China to Hungary.
One legend says thousands of horses were raced over Genghis Khan's grave to erase any trace of it. Another says he was buried in the bed of a river, the water temporarily diverted before going back to its original course.
Woods' group surveyed several sites before settling at Ogolgchiin Kherem.
The site is surrounded by a 2-mile-long wall that stands nine feet high in places. One man from the region said his ancestors had been protecting it for generations, though he didn't know why.
The American team has encountered a string of misfortunes.
During one recent trip, a Land Cruiser rolled down a hillside, flipping three times. Earlier, a team member was bitten by a poisonous snake; thousands of pit vipers apparently live in the wall surrounding the site.
"If the tomb was found, some people would become very rich," said Baatariin Bayar, a shopkeeper in Ulan Bator, the Mongolian capital. But, he said, "I would be afraid to touch that soil, because bad things would follow me and my family."
What a great guy, I can see why they want to find his grave.
Sounds like someone forgot to gease a few palms.
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