WRATH OF KHAN :

'Curse' of Genghis Khan's secret tomb strikes again (Damien McElroy, 17/08/2002, Daily Telegraph)

A legendary curse that has protected the tomb of Genghis Khan from discovery for 800 years appears to have struck again after an American expedition that
claimed to have located the grave abruptly pulled out of Mongolia.

The whereabouts of the remains of the 13th century warlord who united the tribes of Mongolia before conquering territory from Russia to China is one of archaeology's last great mysteries.

According to legend, the tomb will never be found.

The Genghis Khan geo-historical expedition obtained a permit from the Mongolian government in June to dig at Oglogchiin Kherem, 200 miles north of the capital, Ulan Bator.

But the mission, organised by a former gold trader, Maury Kravitz, and a University of Chicago historian, John Woods, suddenly ended this month after encountering a string of unfortunate "accidents". [...]

Before his death in 1227 Genghis Khan supposedly gave out elaborate orders to ensure that the grave was never discovered.

According to one account, 1,000 foot soldiers were killed at the site to prevent them disclosing the site.

When 800 more soldiers returned to Karakorum, the ancient Mongol capital, they too were slaughtered. Some say that thousands of horses were raced over the grave to obliterate any trace of the burial.

We're thinkin' movie... Posted by Orrin Judd at August 17, 2002 8:28 AM