Kereksur (Khirigsuur) Field – Arkhangai Plateau
Arkhangai Khirigsuur Field · Tariat Kereksurs
Late Bronze to Early Iron (Mongolian Bronze)·Mongolian Late Bronze pastoralists·🇲🇳 Arkhangai Province, Tariat–Khangai lava field, Mongolia
About
About Kereksur (Khirigsuur) Field – Arkhangai Plateau
A dense concentration of 80+ khirigsuurs ( Late Bronze khirgisuur burial-mounds 1400–800 BCE) on the Arkhangai volcanic plateau, 200 km northwest of the Saryarka Sayan field in Kazakhstan. Each khirigsuur comprises a central 6–12 m cairn with 20–40 m diameter satellite stone circle and radiating pavements, often with horse skull deposits (up to 300 per mound). Dated to Late Bronze–Early Iron via horse tooth AMS, the Arkhangai field shows Bronze Age horse ceremonialism at 1,680 m altitude, linking Mongolian plateau pastoralists to Andronovo-Sintashta antecedents. Excavated 2011–2018 by Smithsonian-Mongolian Joint Project.
Why it mattersHighest-elevation horse khirigsuur field showing Late Bronze horse ritual at Mongolian plateau rim.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Horse breed domestication signature
Theories
- 01Andronovo-derived horse cult
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.1400 – 800 BCE
- Period
- Late Bronze to Early Iron (Mongolian Bronze)
- Culture
- Mongolian Late Bronze pastoralists
- Builders
- Khangai pastoralists (proto-Mongolic)
- Purpose
- Horse-sacrifice cemetery and sky ritual
- Abandoned
- c.700 BCE
- Rediscovered
- 2011 Fitzhugh Arkhangai survey
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
1400 BCE
Earliest horse-skull cairns
2015
Smithsonian maps 80 khirigsuurs
On the ground
Structures & features
47.2500° N · 101.5200° E · 1680 m · 2 mapped features
Khirigsuur KH-22 Horse Cairn
kurgan8-m cairn with 140 horse skulls
47.2510° N · 101.5220° ESatellite Circle R-14
earthwork35-m outer circle with radiating lines
47.2480° N · 101.5180° E