A khirigsuur is a type of monument found on Bronze Age sites in the Mongolian region of China. Built by mobile pastoralists of the first and second millennia BC, khirigsuurs generally consist of a stone cairn, surrounded by a square or circular fence of surface stones. Some are fairly simple; others quite elaborate, with pavements, porches and shaped fences.
Khirigsuurs are very common in the landscape of Central Mongolia and the Baikal regions in Siberia, with an average of two or three occurring a square kilometer. They generally occur in clusters and were probably maintained and added to over generations. They range in size from 10 meters to tens of meters in diameter and may be several meters in height.
Khirigsuurs very rarely contain human remains; those that do are high status individuals of the 2nd and 1st millennium BC. Others may be altars, boundary markers or may even have astronomical components.
Sources
This glossary entry is part of the Dictionary of Archaeology, Archaeology Site Types and Archaeology Burial Types.
Allard, Francis and Diimaajav Erdenebaatar. 2005. Khirigsuurs, ritual and mobility in the Bronze Age of Mongolia. Antiquity 79:547-563.
Sprague, Roderick. 2005. Burial Terminology: A guide for researchers. Altamira Press, Lanham, Maryland.
Rakita, Gordon F. M., Jane Buikstra, Lane A. Beck, and Sloan R. Williams(eds). 2005. Interacting with the Dead: Perspectives on Mortuary Archaeology fo the New Millennium. University Press of Florida, Gainsville.
