🗿 Archaeological Highlights of Altai mountains

🌍 A Crossroads of Empires & Cultures

Located in far western Mongolia, Bayan-Ölgii has long stood at the intersection of empires, migrations, and trade routes—just north of the legendary Silk Road. For over 12,000 years, waves of peoples have passed through or settled this land, leaving behind an extraordinary archaeological record.

❄️ Why the Past Is So Well Preserved

Thanks to a cold, dry climate and sparse population, ancient artifacts have survived in remarkable condition. Surveys estimate:

• 🪨 Hundreds of thousands of petroglyphs
• 🗿 Over 1,000 stone monuments
• 🦌 ~50 deer stones
• ⚰️ Numerous tombs, burial mounds, and ancient graves

These remains allow archaeologists to trace the evolution from hunter-gatherers → pastoralists → semi-nomadic herders, the roots of today’s ger-dwelling nomads.

🖼️ Petroglyphs: Stories Etched in Stone

Petroglyphs dating from 10,000 BC to ~100 AD—created by early Turkic groups and the Huns—depict:

• 🦌 Wild animals and livestock
• 🏹 Hunting scenes and rituals
• 🐎 Early horse culture
• 🛖 The beginnings of pastoral nomadism

Through these images, visitors can see direct connections to the living nomadic culture of Bayan-Ölgii today.

⭐ Tsagaan Salaa – A World-Class Site

According to Lonely Planet, Tsagaan Salaa in Altai Tavan Bogd National Park is the best place in Central Asia to view petroglyphs—over 10,000 carvings spread along a 15 km river valley.

🗿 Standing Stones & Sacred Monuments

From around the Bronze Age onward, communities began erecting standing stone monuments to honor ancestors—some reaching up to 4.5 meters (15 ft) tall.

Types Found in the Mongolian Altai

• 🦌 Deer stones – featuring flying deer motifs
• 🗿 Turkic image stones
• 🪨 False image stones
• 🧍 Balbals – lines of stones marking memorial sites

Many stones were reused or newly erected well into the Mongol Empire era.

⚰️ Burial Mounds & Ritual Sites

Across Bayan-Ölgii you’ll find diverse funerary structures:

• 🪨 Khirigsuur (large stone mounds)
• 🏺 Turkic memorial complexes
• 🛖 Dwelling monuments
• ⚰️ Ancient graves and altars

🧬 Notable Discovery: In 2005, an expedition uncovered a mummified Scythian warrior in full battle regalia beneath a khirigsuur—one of the most important archaeological finds in western Mongolia.