An important excavation project on the culture of ancient Turks is being implemented in collaboration with the Mongolian University of Culture and Arts and Istanbul University. Under the main sponsorship of the İlteriş Foundation; the “Şovh Uul-2024” excavation was launched within the scope of the “Equestrian Culture-2024” joint field studies on the history, culture and art of nomads. It was announced that the project’s managers from Turkey will be Prof. Dr. Kürşat Yıldırım from Istanbul University and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elvin Yıldırım from Istanbul Aydın University, while it was reported that Researcher-PhD Şeyma Sapma will also be in the excavation team. The managers of the important excavation project from Mongolia were determined as Dr. S. Tsolmon, PhD B. Ochir from the Mongolian Academy of Sciences and PhD Zauryeş Ryskhan from Istanbul University.
OUR ROOTS ARE IN THE STEPPE
Prof. Dr. Kürşat Yıldırım, who stated that within the framework of the “Equestrian Culture-2024” joint field studies, archaeological excavations will be carried out in the tomb and monument areas located in the Shovh Uul Mountain and Tuul River basin of the Altanbulag District of the Tuv Province of Mongolia, said, “As a result of the study, joint scientific articles will be published. The excavation report will be in two languages, Mongolian and Turkish. Our roots spread from Khakassia and the Altay Sayan steppes to Anatolia over the centuries. Since the period when the Turks appeared on the stage of history, we see them in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lake Baikal, Altay and the Tien Shan Mountains, as well as in Anatolia. “The excavation we will do will shed light on the traces of the past,” he said.
TURKS’ ANCESTORY HOMELAND
Prof. Dr. Yıldırım touched upon the possibility that the excavation area, which is estimated to date back to the 5th-8th centuries, belongs to the Bronze Age and shared the following information: “The area we examined and excavated is a 10×10 square meter tomb complex. This tomb, whose burial area is in the Tula Valley, is different from the common Plate Stone Tomb form. “This is the area where Turkish and Mongol tribes have spread since ancient times and is one of the centers of the states founded by the Huns, Gokturks, Uyghurs and Mongols.”
ANALYSIS HAS BEGUN
“The kurgan we are excavating is very rare in Mongolia, and there are only a few in the Tula Valley, in provinces such as Arhangai and Khentii. In this respect, revealing the kurgan’s plan and the structure of the burial complex alone is of great importance. As we went deeper from the surface, horse and sheep bones were first found. These were immediately sent to laboratories for radiocarbon analysis.”
TONYUKUK LIVED
Historian Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elvin Yıldırım stated that Turkish Inscriptions reported the Nine Oghuz homelands on the Tula coast, and added, “The homeland of the Bilge Tonyukuk tribe is also on the Tula coast, his own inscription was erected in this region. Such historical information informs us about the historical basis of numerous monuments of the 5th-8th centuries on the Tula coast. “In this respect, the results that will emerge from the kurgan we excavated are of great importance for our history,” he said.
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