Shamefully Executed Han Soldiers Were Uncovered In A 2,100-Year-Old Grave In Mongolia
An ancient mass grave at the Bayanbulag site in southern Mongolia contains the dismembered bodies of soldiers who fought in the Han-Xiongnu War in the 2nd century B.C., and research has found that the individuals were local to North China, not Mongolia. The discovery provides new information about the soldiers’ lives and deaths.
“Execution by dismemberment was the most shameful form of execution,” said Alexey Kovalev, a researcher at the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
“It was done by enemies so that the souls of these people could never be reborn.”
The Han-Xiongnu War was a series of conflicts between the Han Empire and the Mongolian Xiongnu confederation during the early Iron Age. Historical accounts of the war were all written from the perspective of the Hans.
The Bayanbulag site in Mongolia was first discovered in 1957. Major excavations were not conducted until 2009, when archaeologists unearthed a fortified structure, pottery, coins, iron tools, bronze crossbow locks, and a clay seal with the mark of a Han official.
The artifacts suggest that the site was built by the Han Empire in 104 B.C. It could’ve been the Shouxiangcheng, or the “Fortification for Receiving Surrender,” that was mentioned in historical records. The writings did not refer to the 20 or more dismembered skeletons in a burial pit, though.
Previous analysis from 2009 revealed evidence of interpersonal violence. Some individuals were found in kneeling positions, implying a ritual practice or execution of captives.
Their identities were unclear due to lack of evidence, but now, advanced technologies allow for the extraction of ancient DNA from skeletal tooth remains to determine their origins.
A team of researchers used genomic and isotope analyses of 14 tooth samples to confirm that all the individuals were male.
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Of the 14 samples, 11 were genetically consistent with ancient and modern Han Chinese populations from North China.
Their diets consisted mainly of millet and wheat, which were staples of the agricultural populations in North China, rather than the meat and dairy-based diet of the Xiongnu people.
Most of the soldiers at Bayanbulag may have been from this region and raised outside of the Mongolian Plateau.
Bayanbulag appears to have been part of a Han military strategy that involved constructing fortified garrisons along the borders instead of setting up permanent occupation in Xiongnu territory.
It was likely operated by farmers from the rural northern borders of the Han Empire conscripted to be soldiers.
It’s unclear if they died in battle with the Xiongnu, in the aftermath of a battle as captives, or as punishment at the hands of Han commanders. Based on the context of the burial, experts can only guess who killed these soldiers.
The details of the study were published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.
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