Gol Mod 2 Xiongnu Royal Necropolis
Gol Mod II · Arkhangai Xiongnu Tombs · Baikal Xiongnu Necropolis
Early Iron Age, Xiongnu (Hunnu) Empire period·Xiongnu (Hunnu) imperial confederacy·🇲🇳 Arkhangai Province, Ikh Tamir District, Mongolia
About
About Gol Mod 2 Xiongnu Royal Necropolis
Premier intact Xiongnu (Hunnu) imperial elite cemetery northwest of Khairkhan mountain where 2001+ Franco-Mongolian excavations uncovered 400+ shaft tombs and a trapezoidal ramped mausoleum (T1, 80×80 m, 14 m deep) for a 1st-c. BCE chanyu with Han lacquer coffins, silk with Chinese characters, jade, gilt bronze chariot and 27 accompanying horse pits. Geomagnetic survey reveals a three-tier hierarchy of satellite tombs mirroring Han imperial陵 mimicry; lacquer bowls bear Zhongshan state marks.
Together with Noyon Uul, Gol Mod proves Hunnu adoption of Qin-Han burial architecture at empire scale—debating whether Xiongnu were steppe empire or proto-state. Ice-preserved textiles and larch coffins yield exceptional organic preservation.
Why it mattersMost architecturally Han-mimicking Xiongnu necropolis; demonstrates conscious empire-level sinification and scale of 1st-c. BCE Hunnu statehood; counterpart to Noyon Uul; informs Hun–Xiongnu continuity debate.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Whether T1 holds historical chanyu (Wiman? Modu?) identifiable via DNA
- 02Degree of Han artisan presence vs imported prestige goods
Theories
- 01Gol Mod as Hunnu imperial capital burial ground reflecting Qin Shihuang陵 adaptation
- 02T1 trapezoidal plan as cosmogram aligning steppe-focal vs Han heaven-square
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.200 BCE–50 CE (Xiongnu Empire)
- Period
- Early Iron Age, Xiongnu (Hunnu) Empire period
- Culture
- Xiongnu (Hunnu) imperial confederacy
- Builders
- Xiongnu elite and Han artisans (lacquer trade)
- Purpose
- Imperial necropolis emulating Han trapezoidal ramped tomb with steppe satellite burials
- Abandoned
- c.50 CE Xianbei supersession
- Rediscovered
- 2001– ongoing UNESCO-Mongolian & CNRS-French mission (Crubézy, Erdenebaatar)
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
200 BCE
Earliest modest shaft tombs (formative Xiongnu)
50 BCE
Construction of trapezoidal T1 mausoleum (14 m deep shaft)
2001
Franco-Mongolian discovery and geomagnetic mapping
2013
Lacquer coffin epigraphy links to Western Han workshops
On the ground
Structures & features
47.4200° N · 102.4200° E · 1580 m · 3 mapped features
T1 Trapezoidal Royal Mausoleum
mausoleum80×80 m ramped shaft tomb 14 m deep with lacquer coffin
47.4200° N · 102.4200° ESouthern Horse Pit Field
horse burial27 horse pits with Han-style chariot alongside T1
47.4150° N · 102.4250° ESatellite Shaft Cluster B
shaft tombMiddle-rank elite shafts 10–12 m diameter around mausoleum
47.4250° N · 102.4150° E
Gallery