The Liao Tomb at Tuerji Mountain

On March 3, 2003, a group of mining prospectors on Tuerji Shan (Tuerji Mountain or Turki Hill 吐尔基山), some fifty kilometers east of Tongliao City in southeastern Inner Mongolia, came across an undisturbed ancient tomb from the time of the Liao dynasty (916-1125). Archaeologists of the Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology of Inner Mongolia under the direction of Mr. Ta La excavated the tomb between March 21 and May 16, 2003. The tomb was furnished luxuriously and most of its contents were well preserved. This is one of only a handful of unlooted tombs of important members of the Liao aristocracy to be discovered in the past 50 years. Over 200 artifacts dating to the tenth century were recovered.

The Chinese State Administration of Cultural Heritage swiftly designated the site one of the year's ten most important archaeological discoveries. The find subsequently became widely publicized in China as a result of several documentaries by Central China Television (CCTV), two of which can be watched below. It is, however, still little known in the West. A comprehensive excavation report has been announced but not yet published.

Because the tomb did not contain an epitaph, the identity of the deceased is unknown. A few characters in Kitan script were discovered on one of the sidewalls of the entrance ramp, but what has been deciphered thus far has provided neither specific information about the deceased nor the date of the burial. From the teeth and hip of the well-preserved corpse archaeologists were able to determine that the tomb belonged to a woman who had likely died between the ages of 30 and 35. Anthropologists at Jilin University in Changchun produced a computer-generated 3D reconstruction of her head. Other scientists at Jilin University have successfully analyzed DNA samples from her bones. Her mitochondrial DNA most closely compares to that found among people in modern-day Mongolia. The well-preserved bones, as well as remains of skin and hair, also yielded information about the lady's eating habits, suggesting that she ate a lot of meat, most likely daily, supplemented with wheat and millet dishes.
image source

Judging from the artifacts in the tomb, the lady would seem to have belonged to the core aristocracy of the early Liao dynasty. Many of the objects are the most luxurious of their kind known to date. The burial likely took place sometime between 930 and 970. Most scholars agree that the deceased was a female shaman, basing their conclusion on a number of artifacts found in the tomb, including a golden headdress, a large silver horn, images of the sun and moon, a ribbon around the lady's ankle, bells tied around her knees, and large quantities of mercury around her remains. Attempts to identify her with any known Kitan princesses have remained inconclusive.

The present website offers a collection of internet resources on this find, including a 6-part and a 2-part CCTV documentary.

Links

Gilded Splendor: Treasures of China's Liao Empire (916-1125) Asia Society Exhibition Website, 2006

Top Ten Archaeological Discoveries of 2003 in China

Re-evaluating the Identity of the Deceased in the Liao Tomb at Tuerji Shan," article in Chinese by Wang Dafang (Cultural Relics Department of Inner Mongolia) in the daily newspaper Nei Menggu Ribao, March 17, 2008. Word file. 王大方: 再解吐尔基山辽墓墓主人身份之谜 (内蒙古日报 2008.3.17)

Content summary of the 6-part CCTV documentary "The Mysterious Case of the Phoenix Coffin" 凤棺谜案, broadcast between 2007 and 2008.

Videos

The Mysterious Case of the Phoenix Coffin, Part 1 凤棺谜案 (1)
A thousand-year old tomb behind wondrous rock 奇异石头后的千年古墓

The Mysterious Case of the Phoenix Coffin, Part 2 凤棺谜案 (2)
Physical remains and toxic substances 尸骨残留剧毒物质

The Mysterious Case of the Phoenix Coffin, Part 3 凤棺谜案 (3) Murder or suicide 他杀还是自杀

The Mysterious Case of the Phoenix Coffin, Part 4 凤棺谜案 (4)
The mystery of an imperial princess's identity 皇家公主身份之谜

The Mysterious Case of the Phoenix Coffin, Part 5 凤棺谜案 (5)
A mystical shaman reappears神秘萨满巫师乍现

The Mysterious Case of the Phoenix Coffin, Part 6 凤棺谜案 (6)
The overall importance of the mysterious 1000-year old tomb 千年古墓谜团重重

The Mystery of the Dead Kitan Lady, Part I (Qidan nüshi shenfen zhi mi 契丹女尸身份之谜(上)). CCTV documentary. http://video.cctv.com/opus/26106.html

The Mystery of the Dead Kitan Lady, Part II. "http://video.cctv.com/opus/26107.html.