Mongolia
Deer Stone Monuments
Deer Stone Monuments by Christravelblog
The Deer Stone Monuments and Related sites of the Bronze Age are beautiful examples of Bronze Age megalithic monumental art made by nomad cultures.
The four sites in Central Mongolia together hold more than 160 elaborately decorated deer stones and numerous burial mounds and petroglyphs. The standing stones can reach up to 4 meters. Together they show the religion, sacrificial ritual, and funeral practice of the Central and Northern Asian Bronze Age nomads.
Community Perspective: Astraftis visited a deer stone field near Uushgiin övör and appreciated their artistic value. Christravelblog drove to the one in the Khoid Tamir Valley in winter.
Site Info
Official Information
- Full Name
- Deer Stone Monuments and Related Sites of Bronze Age (ID: 1621)
- Country
- Mongolia
- Status
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Inscribed 2023
Site history
History of Deer Stone Monuments
- WHS Type
- Cultural
- Criteria
- i
- iii
Links
- UNESCO
- whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org
- whc.unesco.org — whc.unesco.org/
Community Information
- Community Category
- Wildlife habitat: Flora
- Archaeological site: Prehistoric
Travel Information
Recent Connections
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Yenisei Basin
“Bronze Age complex site with deer ston… -
Steppe
"The steppe and river valleys provided … -
Shamanism
"In particular, the meanings of deer an…
Connections of Deer Stone Monuments
- Geography
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Yenisei Basin
“Bronze Age complex site with deer stones at Khoid Tamir valley” (UNESCO)… The Tamir joins the Orkhon and then the Slenge on the way to Lake Baikal and the Yenisei
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- History
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Iron Age
Bronze Age and Early Iron Age deer stone monuments -
Megalithism
"Deer stones (also known as reindeer stones) are ancient megaliths carved with symbols found largely in Siberia and Mongolia." (wiki) -
Bronze Age
Bronze Age and Early Iron Age deer stone monuments
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- Ecology
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Steppe
"The steppe and river valleys provided ideal environments for pastoral communities to develop complex societies. There is a uniformity of construction and erection techniques for deer stones and related funeral/ritual monuments throughout the steppe region." - AB Evaluation
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- Architecture
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Restored by anastylosis
"A team from the Mongolia-Monaco joint project re-erected (reconstructed) deer stones in Khoid Tamir Valley. The 21 deer stones were selected to be re-erected based on the structure of the heritage site and the comparative studies carried out on the site. We were guided by the following 3 principles to locate places for the re-erection of the deer stones. First, the deer stones are erected at the left side of the khirgisüür. Second, the deer stones are erected in the center and by the left side of the main sacrificial structures in the central and northern part of Mongolia. Third, having studied the initial erection of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd deer stones which stand in their original places at the heritage site of Jargalantyn Am, and having observed the intentional open spaces within the sacrificial structures." - Nomination File
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- Religion and Belief
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Shamanism
"In particular, the meanings of deer and animal images on the Deer Stones correlate to expressions of ancient beliefs and ritual practices, and may very likely relate to concepts of shamanism." - Nomination File -
Horse Burials
"There are both human burials and remains of horses (assumed to be sacrificial offerings) at the khirgisüürs" (AB ev)
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- Constructions
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Stelae
"Deer stones are gigantic steles, ranging in height up to four metres with engravings of stylised stag images" (AB ev)
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- Timeline
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Built in the 2nd Millennium BC
"These include deer stone monuments dating from about 1200 to 600 BCE." (AB ev)
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- WHS Names
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Name changes
It was on the T List as "Deer Stone Monuments, the Heart of Bronze Age Culture" - changed at final nomination at suggestion of ICOMOS
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News
No news.
Recent Visitors
Reserved for members.Community Reviews
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VISIT: LATE NOVEMBER 2023
Mongolia in winter? It was not my initial plan, but when my business trip to Beijing got rescheduled from early October to late November, I had no choice. Ok, I had a choice, but I wanted to visit Mongolia. Period. Mongolia is a huge country, and visiting the various WHS in one trip would take a lot of time, so I decided to visit two in a total of 3 days (plus, of course, arrival and departure days): the Orkhon Valley and the Deer Stone Monuments. The Deer Stone Monuments were inscribed in 2023, and their locations were well documented with good maps at UNESCO. There are many more Deer Stones in Mongolia, though. From the 3 locations, the Uushigiin Övör site would be easy if driving west from Ulaanbaatar, and the other two, Jargalantyn Am (two sites) and Khoid Tamir Valley, from Tsetserleg. In summer, Jargalantyn (actually the most important for locals) would be easy, but in winter, it's too far from Tsetserleg, so I chose Khoid Tamir Valley. I didn't know what to expect as information online is very scarce.
The only way to get to the Deer Stones is by private transport. In winter, do not attempt it solo (in summer it is easy), and take a local with you. It's best to go with two cars in winter to save time if you get stuck, which happened twice to me. So really take care if you go in winter. From …
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Disclaimer: at first I was convinced I had visited exactly one of the three sites of this TWHS, but then, after better checking, it seems that in mid-August 2018 I was at a smaller field of deer stones of which I can't remember the name between Khatgal (the town on the Khövsgöl lake) and Mörön and near to the Erkhel lake (Эрхэл нуур), not far from the proposed one of Uushgiin övör (Уушгийн өвөр). It was off the beaten track and not so easy to find, but still not so distant from the main road (and of course absolutely no signs). Since the deer stones there are of the same kind as in the other sites and in the same area, I think I can count this as a "visit".
In fact, the official proposal as it stands now probably tries to limit the wealth of such monuments, that one finds scattered in all of Northern Mongolia, just to the most iconic and extended groups. I think, though, that it would make a lot of sense and also benefit the proposal to list other minor, but not less interesting nor significant, sites. It would also give a better sense of the magnitude of this heritage.
That said, I am absolutely favourable to the inscription of deer stone (= буган чулуу/bugan chuluu) monuments in the definitive WHS list, and I think that there are quite good possibilities now that it has been nominated for 2020 (if some …
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