Urn Burial Site

Urn Burial Site

The Urn Burial Site is a cultural tourism attraction.

Urn Burial Site

In June 1983, while constructing houses on residential plots designated by their production team in Houbaozi Village, Beitang Township, Jimusa’er County, villagers discovered three urn burial clusters buried 50 centimeters underground.

Among them, two urns measured 65 cm and 30 cm in height, with mouth diameters of 25 cm and 30 cm respectively, made of gray pottery with a coarse clay body and featuring net-like patterns on their bodies. Research suggests that this burial site belonged to Turkic tombs from the Sui and Tang dynasties.

Historical records indicate that during the late Sui and early Tang periods, the area north of Bogda Mountain was mainly inhabited by the Western Turks. In the fourth year of the Zhenguan era, after the defeat of the Göktürk leader Jiali Khan, the Khan Futu City became a frontier stronghold opposing the Tang Dynasty. The earliest Turkic incursions into Central Asia began in the 560s of the 6th century, and over the long course of history, the region centered around Khan Futu City continued to be used for generations of nomadic herding, farming, and settlement. The Turks primarily worshipped fire, revered air and water, extolled the earth, and regarded heaven as the sole creator deity, offering sacrifices using horses, cattle, and sheep.

Before the spread of Islam in Central Asia, not only Zoroastrianism and Buddhism coexisted, but Manichaeism and Christianity also held certain influence, though Zoroastrianism (fire worship) was the most prominent.

The practice of urn burial was associated with Zoroastrian customs, with urn burials emerging around the 2nd century BC. This ritual tradition likely originated from the merging of two Iranian tribal burial rites—inhumation and river cremation.

The urn burial custom underwent remarkable changes during the Turkic era, with the discovery of tent-style urns. The decoration of these urns imitated the patterns found on shepherd tents, and the upper part of the urn walls were perforated to symbolize the wooden frame of the tent. Thus, what was originally a burial style reflecting Central Asia was imbued with the characteristics of Turkic nomadic life.