Slate Tomb Complexes

Slate Tomb Complexes

The slate tomb complexes are cultural tourism attractions.

More than 30 slate tomb complexes are distributed across the territory of Xin Youqi, ranging from just a few to dozens, and even up to one or two hundred. These sites hold significant archaeological value. For example, the Dalin Chulu Tomb Complex, not far from the western shore of Hulun Lake, features over 120 densely packed slate tombs on the mountainside. The structure of these tombs consists of large natural stone slabs arranged into rectangular burial chambers, with the larger ones measuring 7 meters in length and 5 meters in width, and the smaller ones about 3 meters long and 2 meters wide, all oriented with their heads facing east. The smaller tombs are generally arranged in rows, while the larger ones are often located in the northeastern part of the tomb complex. About 10 meters in front (to the east) of some of the larger tombs, there may be standing natural stone slabs resembling tombstones, though none bear any inscriptions. Only the “tombstone” in front of the largest tomb in the northeastern part of the complex is engraved with several semi-circular grooves, and its sides also feature circular grooves. The southwestern slope of Dongde Wula Mountain on the western shore of Hulun Lake is also home to many massive slate tombs, all constructed using locally sourced, weathered gneiss stone slabs taken from nearby mountaintops. These slabs are approximately 0.1 meter thick, 1 or 1.5 meters long, and 0.5 or 1 meter wide. The huge stone slabs are placed vertically and buried underground, with half of their length exposed above ground, forming rectangular burial chambers. Some of the larger tombs can reach up to 8 meters in length and 5 meters in width. Outside the rectangular burial chamber on the western side, there is sometimes an attached small chamber-like structure, about 5 meters long and 4 meters wide. The distribution of such slate tomb complexes from the western shore of Hulun Lake all the way to Lake Baikal is an important characteristic of the Bronze Age Kitoi culture of Outer Baikal.