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A large rock stands out in the middle of a plain in Mongolia. The Taikhar chuluu is covered with inscriptions dating back as far as Turkic rule in Mongolia. Those inscriptions were followed by more in the Mongol language, then Tibetan, and even more modern graffiti.
Of course, the rock itself did not come here by itself, the legend says. Long time ago there lived a hero here called Bökebilig (“Strong and wise”). Suddenly a large snake started to come out from under the earth. Bökebilig did not like this, and he pushed back the snake from where it came, and then he closed the mouth of its cave with this rock which has been standing here ever since. Not far from the rock there is a small mountain called Altan sandali (“Golden throne”), of which tradition says that Bökebilig took a rest on it, while washing his hands in the nearby Tamir river.
Neatoramanauts, here’s your chance to play armchair archaeologist. Our friends over at the National Geographic is crowdsourcing a project to identify archaeological treasures in Mongolia using satellite imagery (via the GeoEye Foundation) and other modern tools.
The goal of Valley of the Khans Project is to identify archaeological sites, but the fun part is that you get to participate in a real-time treasure hunt. The project is led by Dr. Albert Yu-Min Lin, a dashing real-life Indiana Jones who’s looking for the lost tomb of Genghis Khan:
Hello fellow explorers!
The entire Valley of the Khans team is very excited to begin the expedition to Mongolia but, for me, the adventure begins today. By enlisting the help of thousands of "virtual explorers" like you, we can start to uncover the mysteries of the Valley of the Khans right now!
The area that we will be exploring has been untouched for more than 800 years. There are no maps, no roadsigns and no one to ask for directions. But we’ve scanned the landscape with super high-resolution satellite imagery. By participating in the online exploration on this site, YOU can join our team by examining these satellite images and searching for clues that will guide our quest to discover the lost tomb of Genghis Khan. Maybe you’ll map out roads and rivers that our expedition can follow to make our way through this inhospitable territory. Perhaps you can identify traces of a nomad’s ger that might be a good place for us to camp. Or maybe you’ll see the buried outline of an ancient tomb that could be the clue we’re searching for…
So don’t let your computer have all the fun looking for aliens on its spare time, check it out and play archaeologist in the homeland of Genghis Khan from the comfort of your own home.
Links: Project Main Page | About the Expedition | Project Blog with daily updates – Thanks Marilyn!
More photos after the jump: more …
This July, I will be driving from London to Mongolia, in a piece of #### car, all in the name of charity. I’m taking part in the Mongol Rally. It is, in fact, as ridiculous as it sounds.
What: The Mongol Rally is an annual charity race across Eurasia where 500 cars traverse 1/3 of the world in 1-liter engine vehicles and, with a lot of luck, make it all the way to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. There’s no route and no help, but a whole lot of road and good deeds along the way.
From the Upcoming 
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