Khirigsuur Burial Complexes
Khereksur · Slab Burial Monuments
Late Bronze Age (~1400–700 BCE)·Khirigsuur culture (Mongolian pastoralist)·🇲🇳 Central Mongolia, Arkhangai, Mongolia
About
About Khirigsuur Burial Complexes
Mounded circular stone platforms 2–20 m diameter surrounded by rectangular or polygonal enclosures with four cardinal knolls, often associated with deer stones and slab burials. Over 20,000 khirigsuurs carpet central Mongolia; excavated examples contain horse skulls at eastern edge and human remains beneath the mound. The largest, at Urt Bulagyn, spans 25 m. Pattern reflects solar orientation and multi-stage burial feasting.
Why it mattersMounded circular stone platforms 2–20 m diameter surrounded by rectangular or polygonal enclosures with four cardinal knolls, often associated with deer stones and slab burials. Over 20,000 khirigsuur
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Horse skull orbit around mound – sacrifice alignment to sunrise?
- 02Rectangular fence chronology – contemporary or secondary addition
Theories
- 01Pastoral aggregation monuments marking emergent ranking in Mongolia's Bronze Age florescence
- 02Funerary banquet enclosures where feasting waste created mound stratigraphy
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.1300–900 BCE
- Period
- Late Bronze Age (~1400–700 BCE)
- Culture
- Khirigsuur culture (Mongolian pastoralist)
- Purpose
- Stone mound cemeteries with peripheral enclosures and horse sacrifices
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
c.1300–900 BCE
Initial construction
c. 1051 CE
Major expansion
On the ground
Structures & features
47.0000° N · 102.0000° E · 1400 m · 2 mapped features
Urt Bulagyn Great Khirigsuur
mound25-m diameter platform with enclosing fence and horse cranial offering
47.0050° N · 102.0100° EBayan Jargal Khirigsuur Field
cemeteryCluster of 18 khirigsuurs aligned with deer stone row
46.9950° N · 101.9900° E
Gallery