Forschung
Research questions
In addition to revealing the structures of the workshop and kiln district, the focus is on the significance of the site for Karakorum as a manufacturing city. In view of the international influences in the field of architecture and especially in the field of handicrafts, as described in the reports of contemporary travellers such as Wilhelm von Rubruk, an art-historical classification of the products of this production site is also necessary in order to be able to draw conclusions about possible models.
Research History
In 2005, an artist from Harhorin discovered several fragments of clay figures on the right bank terrace of the Orkhon, including the figure of a bird-woman, a galbinga, preserved except for the head. In the course of a further survey, the remains of spacers were also found, suggesting the presence of a kiln.
However, it was not until 2008 that the first test excavations were carried out as part of MONDOrEx, the Mongolian-German Orkhon Expedition, which were continued on a large scale in the summer of 2009 after the discovery of four ovens. This was the first time in Mongolia that a large workshop and kiln district had been comprehensively investigated in a representative section.
