The ruins of Genghis Khan's palace have been excavated in eastern Mongolia, a Japanese archaeologist said yesterday, estimating the conqueror's grave is near the site.
A joint Japanese and Mongolian research team has unearthed some 600,000m2 of the remains of the palace complex some 250km south-east of Ulan Bator.
PHOTO: AP/THE JAPAN-MONGOLIA JOINT RESEARCH TEAM, HO
Cornerstones and holes for pillars were found in what is thought to be a mausoleum near the centre of the remains believed built in the 13th century, when the savage warrior unified local tribes and founded the Mongol Empire.
Other unearthed articles include earrings and bronze accessories as well as incense burners with dragon designs often considered the symbol of an emperor.
The research team, which began their project in 2001, has also found the ashes and bones of horses and cows believed to have been used for a memorial service for the Mongol leader.
"We concluded it was his mausoleum because historical documents are saying such a memorial service was held to mark his death," said Noriyuki Shiraishi, assistant professor at Niigata University and head of the Japanese side of the 30-member team.
"According to various documents related to Genghis Khan, his grave is supposed to be located within a radius of 12 kilometers from the mausoleum," he said.
"We believe that with this finding, we have taken a step closer to locating his grave," he added.
The burial site of Genghis Khan remains unknown. He was believed to have been buried in an unmarked spot in the Mongolian Plateau.
While the team will continue their dig in the second phase of the project that will end in 2007, it will wait for permission from the Mongolian government to expand the project to find the grave.
Most historians agree that Genghis Khan died in 1227 while fighting in the region of Xixia, on the edge of the autonomous Chinese regions of Ningxia and Inner Mongolia.
DIALOGUE: US president-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform confirmed that he had spoken with Xi, saying ‘the call was a very good one’ for the US and China US president-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan, trade, fentanyl and TikTok in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump heads back to the White House with vows to impose tariffs and other measures on the US’ biggest rival. Despite that, Xi congratulated Trump on his second term and pushed for improved ties, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The call came the same day that the US Supreme Court backed a law banning TikTok unless it is sold by its China-based parent company. “We both attach great importance to interaction, hope for
‘GREAT OPPRTUNITY’: The Paraguayan president made the remarks following Donald Trump’s tapping of several figures with deep Latin America expertise for his Cabinet Paraguay President Santiago Pena called US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming foreign policy team a “dream come true” as his nation stands to become more relevant in the next US administration. “It’s a great opportunity for us to advance very, very fast in the bilateral agenda on trade, security, rule of law and make Paraguay a much closer ally” to the US, Pena said in an interview in Washington ahead of Trump’s inauguration today. “One of the biggest challenges for Paraguay was that image of an island surrounded by land, a country that was isolated and not many people know about it,”
‘FIGHT TO THE END’: Attacking a court is ‘unprecedented’ in South Korea and those involved would likely face jail time, a South Korean political pundit said Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday stormed a Seoul court after a judge extended the impeached leader’s detention over his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law. Tens of thousands of people had gathered outside the Seoul Western District Court on Saturday in a show of support for Yoon, who became South Korea’s first sitting head of state to be arrested in a dawn raid last week. After the court extended his detention on Saturday, the president’s supporters smashed windows and doors as they rushed inside the building. Hundreds of police officers charged into the court, arresting dozens and denouncing an
CYBERSCAM: Anne, an interior decorator with mental health problems, spent a year and a half believing she was communicating with Brad Pitt and lost US$855,259 A French woman who revealed on TV how she had lost her life savings to scammers posing as Brad Pitt has faced a wave of online harassment and mockery, leading the interview to be withdrawn on Tuesday. The woman, named as Anne, told the Seven to Eight program on the TF1 channel how she had believed she was in a romantic relationship with the Hollywood star, leading her to divorce her husband and transfer 830,000 euros (US$855,259). The scammers used fake social media and WhatsApp accounts, as well as artificial intelligence image-creating technology to send Anne selfies and other messages