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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Maps reveal surprising details of Mongols’ ancient capital

Sensors that peer underground chart the unexpected sprawl of Karakorum, established by the heir to Genghis Khan.
The vehicle-drawn SQUID measurement system at work in front of the Buddhist monastery of Erdene Zuu

Truck-drawn sensors map the Mongolian empire’s ancient capital, which is now partially concealed beneath farm fields and a Buddhist monastery. Credit: Jan Bemmann

During his travels through the Mongol empire in the 1250s, a Flemish friar described the capital, Karakorum, as an enclosed city with four gates. Now, researchers have fully mapped the city — and called the friar’s picture into question1.

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Nature 599, 182 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-03013-4

References

  1. Bemmann, J. Linzen, S., Reichert, S. & Munkhbayar, L. Antiquity https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2021.153 (2021).

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