A Layered History of Karakorum

The up to 5 m thick stratigraphy in the center of Karakorum, the most important city of the Mongol Empire north of the Gobi, is analyzed with a combination of established stratigraphical methods and a novel software with special software and thus a solid basis for any study of this center is created. Nine construction phases can be distinguished. The catalogue comprises the more than 2000 features uncovered from 2000-2005 in the artisans' quarter and the 130 spatial units defined on this basis, so that for the first time comprehensive information on an ancient city in Mongolia is available.