Forschung
Research objectives
In contrast to the life of the Uyghurs in East Turkestan, where part of the tribe settled after fleeing from Karabalgasun in 840, the life of the early Uyghurs is poorly known from an archaeological perspective.
In addition to the complex documentation of a unique urban settlement in eastern Central Asia, the aim of the project is to present Karabalgasun as a model for an early nomadic town. The transformation of a nomadic people into an urban one with a predominantly agrarian basis was an essential prerequisite for the survival of Uyghur culture and its later flourishing in the oasis cities of East Turkistan.
Approaches and Methods
The excavations at Karabalgasun, which have been underway since 2009, are accompanied by surveys of the surrounding area, as well as further surveying, geophysical, palaeobotanical and archaeozoological studies.
Given the huge area of the city (more than 32 km²), a survey based solely on excavations is almost impossible. Therefore, on 13 August 2007, an airborne laser scanning (ALS) survey of the city was carried out, which proved to be the best method for the grass steppe. The surface of an area of approximately 43 km² was laser scanned and a continuous line of points was recorded.
From the approximately 548 million measured points, a terrain model with a grid width of 0.25 m was calculated. This allows the creation of contour lines and a very detailed terrain model in terms of surface drawing and relief, which clearly shows the dimensions of the city with its walls and buildings.
The laser-scanned plan provides an essential basis for further investigations.
Research history
At the opening ceremony of the KAAK research office in Ulaanbaatar in 2007, another cooperation agreement was signed, following on from the 1999 agreement establishing the MDKE - the same year MONDOrEx, the Mongolian-German Orkhon Expedition, was founded.
The project is generously funded by the Gerda Henkel Foundation. The research focus of MONDOrEx is the 8th/9th century Uyghur capital of Karabalgasun and its surroundings in the Orkhon valley between Harhorin and Ögii Nuur.
Despite small-scale excavations in 1948 under the direction of Sergei Kiselev and the remains of buildings still visible above ground, little is known about the foundation of the nomadic city in the Orkhon valley.
Following a survey by the Technical University of Karlsruhe and an airborne laser scan in 2007, the first excavation campaign was carried out in August and September 2009. In the following years, the survey and archaeological development of the larger walled complexes known as HB1, HB2 (the so-called palace or temple district), and HB3 took place with different focal points within the city.
Research questions
The excavations at Karabalgasun are devoted to questions of urban planning, development and division. A central question is the development of Uyghur identity, which is also manifested in the use of architecture. Contacts with China under the Tang Dynasty on the one hand, and with the Sogdian region on the other, are important factors that influenced Uyghur culture politically, economically and religiously. How these relationships affected the formation of an urban yet nomadic organisation and way of life will also be examined.
Other questions include the significance of the city as a political, economic and religious centre, and the importance of central places for the structuring and organisation of nomadic territories and lifestyles.