Keregsur

Also known as xirgisu'u'r or keregsu'u'r, this type of prehistoric funerary monument consists of a mound of earth or stones surrounded by a round or square frame of stones. Some keregsurs contain human remains and funeral objects, but many are revealed to be empty upon excavation, suggesting that their function may have been purely ritual.

The keregsur encountered in Mongolia take several forms; archaeologists have classified approximately 30 different types of keregsur in central and western Mongolia. Yet all keregsur have a similar layout, centred on a large, circular mound of earth covered with stones. Surrounding this central mound is a round or square frame of stones, which can be accompanied both within and without by numerous square or round cairns or other stone structures. Some keregsur have double frames. Typically there is a gap in the frame indicating an entrance, which faces south or east.

According to Chinese sources, the funeral rites of the Turks were conducted in several stages. In the first instance, the corpse of the deceased would be placed in the home, and a horse and sheep would be offered in sacrifice before the yurt by his sons, nephews, and parents. Thereupon the relatives would circle the tent seven times on horseback, emitting wails of sorrow, and slitting their faces with a knife in such a manner that blood would flow along with their tears. Following this, on an auspicious day, the horse serving as the mount of the deceased would be burned along with all the objects which had been his property. The burial itself would often occur much later, as it was considered appropriate only to bury the dead in autumn, following the yellowing of the leaves, or in spring, following the budding of the leaves. At the time of the burial a further sacrifice would be made and the close relatives would cut their faces as before. These funeral customs were closely connected with the shamanic worldview of the Turkic peoples; it was believed that in cremating the body, the spirit would be enabled to ascend to heaven along with the smoke.

Excavations of barrows typically reveal animal bones, presumably offered in sacrifice, and various other objects, but not usually human remains; this suggests that they may have served as shrines serving the purpose of ancestor-worship, or indeed that the body of the deceased may have been fully cremated prior to burial. WILLIAM OF RUBRUCK asserted that these structures were in fact graves: "The Comans raise a great tumulus over the dead, and set up a statue to him, its face to the east, and holding a cup in its hand at the height of the navel. They make also pyramids to the rich, that is to say, little pointed structures, and in some places I saw great tiled covered towers, and in others stone houses, though there were no stones thereabout."

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