Outstanding Discoveries of Mongolian Historians and Archaeologists: Excavations of the Sar’dag Monastery

Abstract

Mongolia is rich in a unique cultural heritage presented by a variety of discovered artifacts that continue to amaze now. Among them, it is quite deservedly possible to include the findings discovered by a complex group of researchers on the ruins of the Sar’dag monastery, which was one of the earliest and largest Mongolian monastic complexes, the de factor center of the religious and political life of the Mongols. The review provides an overview of the works included in the collective monograph “The Sar’dag monastery of Undur-gegen Zanabazar: the Centre of artistic creativity”, published under the editorship of Sampildondovyn Chuluun, the Academician of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences. This work is the result of six years of archaeological excavations conducted by a large scientific team in 2013–2018. The results obtained made it possible to restore the structure of the monastery complex, opened new, previously unknown pages of the activity of Undur-gegen Zanabazar. The artifacts found indicate the existence of wide external relations of the Mongols of that period with foreign countries. Articles on the preservation, restoration and digital documentation of found artifacts are of great scientific interest and relevance. In general, the results of the conducted works provide a new rich source material for a more in-depth study of the history of Mongolia of the period under consideration.