Archaeobotany at Karabalgasun: Mongolian Expedition 2024

Discovery Programme Archaeologist Dr David Stone was recently invited to participate in a German Archaeological Institute (Deutsches Archäologisches Institut (DAI)) led expedition to the Övörkhangai Province in Mongolia.

This blog details the 10 days he spent in the UNESCO Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape (OVCL) visiting the archaeological sites of Karabalgasun and Karakorum and analysing environmental samples collected during archaeological excavations there, assessing their potential for further archaeobotanical analysis.

Mongolian Expedition 2024

This collaboration follows a preliminary visit I made to Berlin earlier in 2024, where I analysed archaeobotanical material at DAI’s German facility. This facility is run by Prof Ferran Antolín, Head of the Natural Sciences Unit of the DAI and of the Archaeobotany Group. During this visit, the research potential of samples from recent Mongolian excavations was demonstrated, and I happily accepted the offer to join the 2024 expedition.

The expedition was led by archaeologist Dr Christina Franken, a researcher at the Commission for the Archaeology of Non-European Cultures (KAAK) of the German Archaeological Institute (DAI). The KAAK has conducted excavations in the old Mongolian capital Karakorum (founded 1220/35 AD) since 2000, complemented by excavations in the Uyghurian capital Karabalgasun (740‒840 AD) since 2007.

Both cities are situated near to each other in the Orkhon valley about 370 km to the west of todays Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar. The aim of the project is to investigate wide-ranging issues on the construction and structure of the two nomadic urban sites of Karabalgasun and Karakorum, how they were supplied, the construction techniques used, and their integration into the geographical surroundings of the Orkhon Valley.

The potential for environmental techniques in general, and archaeobotany in particular, to address some of these questions is well established, with great potential to add to the knowledge of these fascinating sites. The main aim of my participation on the expedition was to use my specialism in archaeobotany, and experience in sample collection and processing in Ireland and Azerbaijan, to:

– Demonstrate the viability and potential of archaeobotanical analyses to inform on aspects of trade and exchange, agricultural economy, and the environment in the UNESCO Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape.

– To consult on the formulation of an appropriate environmental strategy for the collection of samples in future excavations in Mongolia.

The expedition would involve visits to both OVCL sites, to develop an understanding and appreciation of the scale and preservation of the archaeological sites in the region, a fieldwork component processing environmental soil samples collected during previous seasons, and laboratory sessions analysing and identifying the resulting recovered plant material.

So, after stepping outside my front door in Kilkenny City at 5.00 am with my backpack, I touched down on the runway of Chinggis Khaan International Airport some 27 hours later, after a brief stop in Beijing, China. I was collected outside the terminal by a driver and then over the next six hours passed through hundreds and hundreds of kilometres of stunning Mongolian landscape, heading west on the Saddle Road. Later that day, I finally arrived sleepy but happy at Karakorum, located in the UNESCO Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape (OVCL), the base for the DAI expedition and my home for the next 10 days.

The UNESCO Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape (OVCL)

The UNESCO Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape (OVCL) is one of six World Heritage Sites in Mongolia and comprises a total of 1,220 km² of grassland along the historic Orkhon River. This archaeologically rich area was the location of successive nomadic cultures which evolved from prehistoric origins on the steppes and resulted in economic, social and cultural polities unique to this region. A number of important archaeological remains and standing structures are extant, including Turkish memorial sites (6th-7th centuries), the Uighur capital of Karabalgasun (8^th-9^th centuries), and the ancient Mongol imperial capital of Kharakhorum (13^th-14^th centuries). The valley is considered under the following UNESCO criteria (Source: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1081/):

Criterion (ii): The Orkhon Valley clearly demonstrates how a strong and persistent nomadic culture led to the development of extensive trade networks and the creation of large administrative, commercial, military and religious centres. The empires that these urban centres supported undoubtedly influenced societies across Asia and into Europe and in turn absorbed influence from both east and west in a true interchange of human values.

Criterion (iii): Underpinning all the development within the Orkhon valley for the past two millennia has been a strong culture of nomadic pastoralism. This culture is still a revered and indeed central part of Mongolian society and is highly respected as a ‘noble’ way to live in harmony with the landscape.

Criterion (iv): The Orkhon Valley is an outstanding example of a valley that illustrates several significant stages in human history. First and foremost it was the centre of the Mongolian Empire; secondly it reflects a particular Mongolian variation of Turkish power; thirdly, the Erdene Zuu monastery and the Tuvkhun hermitage monastery were the setting for the development of a Mongolian form of Buddhism; and fourthly, Khar Balgas, reflects the Uighur urban culture in the capital of the Uighur Empire.

The Modern Landscape

The OVCL consists of a large area of grassland or steppe, which is still grazed by Mongolian nomadic pastoralists today. Nomadism has been an integral part of Mongolian culture for thousands of years. As a region with vast stretches of open grassland, Mongolia’s nomadic lifestyle has been shaped by this environment, economy, and traditions of its people. Livestock plays a crucial role in this traditional nomadic way of life in Mongolia. Sheep, goats, cattle, horses and camels are the main domestic animals. Sheep and goats provide wool, milk, meat, and hides, while cattle are primarily used for meat and dairy. Horses are used for transportation and herding, as well as for meat and milk. Camels are primarily used for transportation, especially in the Gobi desert region. Nomads in Mongolia move their livestock from place to place in search of fresh pasture and water. Where these pastures are found, a vernacular nomadic dwelling called a Ger is constructed where people live while there animals forage in the area.

The Ger is a round structure in plan with a peaked roof. It is light enough for nomads to carry, flexible enough to fold and pack, and sturdy enough to be dismantled and reassembled repeatedly. The Ger can withstand Mongolia’s fierce spring winds. The structure is homogenous across the country, and consists of a wooden frame painted and decorated with traditional ornamentation, covers made of white felt and canvas, ropes of animal hair, flooring and carpets of hand-sewn felt, and simple but beautiful furniture. Traditional craftsmanship is taught to the younger generations, principally through mentoring by a senior craftsperson to preserve this architectural heritage. Dismantling and reassembling the Ger are always family operations, with children learning by watching their elders. Cutting and preparing sheep’s wool, making felt, stitching canvas and preparing woodwork are usually communal endeavours. As a traditional dwelling, the Mongol Ger plays an important social and cultural role for nomadic families and its makers are highly respected.

During the expedition I had the opportunity to travel through a small part of the stunning steppe landscape where we stopped at an encampment to visit a family of horse herders. Here we watched the family coral and milk their horses and afterwards received the famous Mongolian hospitality, where we were served homemade airag (a fermented milk beverage made from horse/mare milk), the jaw-breaking aaruul cheese (dried cheese made from the curd of airag), and warm milk vodka.

Karabalgasun

The expedition included a visit to the primary site of archaeobotanical interest on this trip, the city of Karabalgasun. The site is located on the western bank of the Orkhon River in the Orkhon Valley where the environmental samples I was asked to analyse were collected. Founded around 745 by the Uyghurs, Karabalgasun is described as one of the most important urban settlements in eastern Central Asia alongside Kharakhom. It is among the largest archaeological urban sites that remains undisturbed due to an absence of modern constructions. The remains of the city are still clearly visible in the Mongolian steppe landscape today. The site is truly enormous, with the walled palace section alone measuring 360 m × 404 m. Recent remote sensing has revealed that the city extended much further than that, highlighting almost 20 km² of walled enclosures, mounds, and the remains of former settlements surrounding the city core. Despite the scale of the city very little of its history and development is known. The city existed for only 100 years when it was destroyed in the year 840 during a Kyrgyz raid.

Read about the excavations by DAI at this wonderful site here: https://www.dainst.org/forschung/projekte/noslug/2840

Karakorum (Ancient Mongol imperial capital 13th-14th centuries)

During the expedition the DAI team also gave me a tour of Karakorum. The site of Karakorum is also located in within the UNESCO Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape (OVCL) in the central part of Mongolia, approximately 360 km southwest of Ulaanbaatar. The site was the capital of the vast Mongol Empire and is thought to  have been established by Chinggis Khaan in 1220. The city functioned as the capital for the Mongol Empire until 1260, and during this period served as a centre of administration, a place for treasure accumulation, the highest place of trial, a gathering point for people of the most varied communities in the empire, and for prisoners of war. Through internal power struggles, Karakorum lost its significance as the empire’s capital, but remained an administrative centre and a central cultural point. Its significance as a manufacturing city, in which numerous Chinese artisans worked in the north of the Mongol Empire, apparently increased in this period. During the 13th and 14th centuries, the city managed to repeatedly recover from military conflicts, lootings and demolitions. It was finally destroyed in 1388 when the Mongol army was eventually driven out of China.

The Erdene Zuu Monastery was constructed on its ruins in the second half of the 16th century reusing some of the earlier city walls. It is the earliest surviving Mongol Buddhist monastery in Mongolia. Here the Tuvkhun Hermitage and the Shank Western monastery are testimony to the widespread and enduring religious traditions and cultural practices of the Northern School of Buddhism which, with their respect for all the forms of life, enshrine the enduring sustainable management practices of this unique cultural landscape of the Central Asian steppes. The site of Karakorum today consists of a series of low earthworks, which are difficult to identify at ground level.

Read about the excavations by DAI here: https://www.dainst.org/forschung/projekte/noslug/2696

Archaeobotanical Analyses

The fieldwork component of the expedition consisted of processing and analysing environmental soil samples collected during the previous season’s excavations, examining the samples for surviving archaeobotanical remains. Previous work by Ferran Antolín and myself indicated that there was a strong likelihood that samples would contain carbonised, desiccated, and mineralised plant material. Therefore the samples were processed using the wet-sieving (or wash-over) technique by the DAI laboratory technician Nina Matzek and myself. This technique is effective in the recover fragile plant macro remains (Badham and Jones, 1985) and produces good results on waterlogged sites and the successful collection of non-carbonised plant material such as fruit stones (Hosch and Zibulski, 2003; Tolar et al., 2010).

The sediment is processed in batches in a bucket or other container. A volume of sample is added to the bucket with water which is then agitated to release the organic material from the clay. The supernatant (which consists mainly of suspended organic residues, roots and fine mud) is then drained onto a sieve column. More water is added to wash through the fine silt. A column consisting of sieves of 2 mm and 0.35 mm for the light fraction was used. This process was repeated until no more organic particles were carried over and only inorganic material and occasionally bones remained.

This process was repeated until the entirety of each sample was processed. The organic fraction was then transferred to pieces of cloth and left to dry completely, while the inorganic fraction was dried and bagged separately. A preliminary visual inspection on-site indicated that samples were rich in carbonised plant material including large quantities of wood charcoal. Once the materials were processed and dried I analysed them under a microscope at the local museum. Here identifiable seeds and other plant materials were extracted for identification. I also scanned heavy residues from previous seasons on-site to identify any plant material, bone, or insect remains within them.

Preliminary Results: Plant usage at Karabalgasun

Prior analyses in 2022 by Ferran Antolín identified the presence of a range of domesticated cereals in samples from Karabalgasun, included barley (Hordeum vulgare), wheat (Triticum sp.), broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum), and foxtail millet (Seteria italica), providing some insights into the plant economy.

All of these species could have been grown locally and indicate a diverse agricultural economy based on cereals cultivated both over the winter and summer months. Unfortunately, samples processed during this trip did not contain any such material. However, more excitingly, while in previous samples it was not possible to detect imported plants, the remains of exotic fruit species were identified during my analyses, indicating the long distance trade of plant products at Karabalgasun during this period, the first such find of its kind at the site.………but we must wait for the final report!

Ulaanbaatar

The final part of my trip included a short stay in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. Mongolia is a fascinating country in which pastoralism and urbanism coexist, and the country has rapidly urbanised over the past century. An impressive range of architectural styles can be identified in the city and a blend of new and old architecture can be found throughout. The final two days of the expedition were spent touring the Chinggis Khaan National Museum, The National Museum of  Mongolia, and the Gandantegchinlen Monastery, where I could see many of the artefacts recovered from the archaeological sites I had just visited and to further learn about the amazing culture and history of this country. After catching my flight from Chinggis Khaan International Airport and travelling for another 20 hours or so, I re-entered my house door after a 20,000km round trip between Kilkenny & Kharkhorin!

Acknowledgements:

I would like to thank a number of people who made this amazing opportunity to travel and work in Mongolia possible! Thank you to The Discovery Programme’s CEO and Board, Prof Ferran Antolín, Dr Christina Franken, Dr Hendrik Rohland, Nina Matzek (DAI), and Prof Ulambayar Erdenebat (National University of Ulaanbaatar).

For more information on the excavations conducted by the DAI in Mongolia follow the link below!

https://www.dainst.org/en/departments/kaak/about-us/research-unit-ulaanbaatar