Engel River Tomb Cluster

Engel River Tomb Cluster

The Engel River Tomb Cluster is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Engel River Tomb Cluster is located in the Engel River Administrative District of Sonid Left Banner, Xilin Gol League, Inner Mongolia.

A largely intact set of gold saddle ornaments featuring dragon and phoenix motifs was unearthed from the Engel River tombs. Their design is very similar to the gold saddle ornaments with reclining deer motifs from the Jin and Yuan periods, excavated in 1988 from the Wulan'gou Tombs in Xianghuang Banner, Xilin Gol League. Furthermore, judging by the decorative patterns on the saddle ornaments—such as the three-melon dragon motif, vine-and-flower motifs, and lotus motifs—the tomb is believed to date back to the Jin and Yuan periods.

A cross-shaped gold ornament fragment unearthed from the Engel River tombs suggests that the tomb’s occupant practiced Nestorian Christianity. Nestorianism was a foreign religion that was widely practiced on the Inner Mongolian grasslands during the Jin and Yuan periods.

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units