Several years ago, archaeologists in China discovered something shocking near the northern fortifications of the Great Wall. They unearthed the jumbled skeletal remains of at least 17 individuals who had been murdered in the most grotesque way conceivable. From the condition of the skeletons it was clear the victims had been severely beaten and then dismembered and decapitated either before or after death, in a massacre that defies description in its level of brutality.
Ending nearly two decades of uncertainty, scientists have now identified the massacre victims as soldiers from the army of China’s legendary Han Dynasty, who were apparently murdered by Mongolian steppe warriors who were the ancestors of the Huns. The massacre had been dated to between the first century BC and first century AD, when the Chinese and the people of the steppes were involved in a vicious and prolonged struggle for supremacy in Eastern Asia.
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Casualties of the Nightmarish Han-Xiongnu Wars
Based on their knowledge of ancient events, the discoverers were certain right from the beginning that the remains belonged to warriors killed during a conflict connected to the Han-Xiongnu Wars. These were a series of violent clashes and battles between the two most powerful East Asian empires of the time, the Chinese Han Dynasty and the nomadic Xiongnu empire that roamed the region’s steppe. The Han-Xiongnu Wars lasted for an astonishing 222 years (133 BC to 89 AD), making Europe’s infamous Hundred Years’ War look like a short-term, small-scale skirmish.
When people are in conflict for this long it can breed extraordinary levels of hatred and contempt, and that was reflected in the states of the bodies that were excavated at the massacre site, which was found near an ancient fortress in Mongolia. But one they couldn’t determine at the time was the identity of the victims: were they Han Dynasty soldiers, Xiongnu warriors, a mixture of both, or a group of innocent civilians senselessly murdered as the result of an ancient war crime?
Thanks to advances in the technology of ancient DNA extraction and analysis, researchers have finally come up with the answer to this question, which they revealed in an article just published in the Journal of Archaeological Science. The victims of the massacre were in fact Han Dynasty soldiers, the researchers report, who were apparently massacred and defiled by a merciless Xiongnu detachment that took no prisoners.
Different views of broken and dismembered skeletons unearthed in 2009 during excavations near Great Wall. (Kovalev, et. al/Journal of Archaeological Science).
“Judging by the poses of these people, they were kneeling or lying down when they were killed,” said study lead author Alexey Kovalev, a researcher from the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Archaeology, in an interview with Science. “One [victim] was lying on his back and trying to cover himself with his hands, so his arms and legs were cut off.”
The team of genetic scientists involved in the new study were given access to the skeletal remains, and they were able to sequence several DNA samples taken from the bones and also measure isotope levels to determine the identify of the victims’ identities.
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Mario Novak at the Centre for Applied Bioanthropology praised the researchers for their scentific detective work, which combined conventional archaeological research with the latest in high-tech genetic analysis.
“This is an excellent example of how these types of studies should be done,” he stated.
A Massacre at Bayanbulag? Examining the Evidence
More than two millennia ago, a fortress known as Bayanbulag stood as a strategic Han Dynasty stronghold in southern Mongolia, in a location that was right on the frontlines during the seemingly endless Han-Xiongnu Wars. In what proved to be the ultimate example of a war of attrition, the two dominant East Asian powers fought against each other tooth-and-nail for more than two centuries, before the mighty Han Dynasty finally emerged victorious.
Earthenware figurines of Chinese Han Dynasty soldiers, from second century BC. (Mary Harrsch/CC BY-SA 4.0).
“After 200 years of war, the Xiongnu were completely defeated and some of them fled to the West,” Kovalev said. It was the descendants of these individuals who would eventually morph into the Huns, the terrifying mauraders who would cause such tremendous havoc in the future under the awe-inspiring leadership of the fearsome Attila.
Previous excavations at Bayanbulag led some scholars to believe it could be the long-lost Shouxiangcheng, a fortress frequently mentioned in ancient Chinese records. Historical accounts state that the Han constructed Shouxiangcheng in 104 BC, but its exact location has remained undetermined.
The site’s architectural style, along with artifacts such as coins, ceramics, and military equipment that were recovered there, strongly indicates Han origins, Kovalev explained. Among the most compelling finds are crossbow fragments and hundreds of crossbow-related arrowheads, which were exclusively used by Han forces at the time, he added. Despite this, doubts persisted regarding whether the fortress was indeed of Han origin.
In 2009, however, archaeologists surveying the area noticed bones protruding from an eroding streambank. Further excavation revealed a mass grave filled with human remains, many bearing signs of violent death.
To solve the mystery of their identity, a team led by Kovalev’s colleague and study co-author Cui Yinqiu at Jilin University extracted and analyzed DNA from 14 skeletons, comparing the results with genetic data from other ancient populations in the region. Their findings revealed that the individuals in the mass grave had genetic ties to populations from the Yellow River Basin in China.
Additional evidence came from isotopic analysis, which examines chemical markers in bones to determine diet and geographic origins. The results indicated that these individuals consumed a mixed diet of plants and meat, a pattern characteristic of Han society. In contrast, the Xiongnu primarily relied on meat and dairy products.
Gold belt buckle with a scene of boar hunting, featuring a Xiongnu steppe warrior on horseback, from the first or second century BC. (Public Domain).
Taken together, the findings strongly suggest that the Xiongnu ambushed and slaughtered a group of Han military soldiers near the fortress, who may have been out on a routine patrol and therefore not fully prepared for trouble.
The Future of Bayanbulag
Bryan Miller, an East Asian history specialist at the University of Michigan who was not involved in the study, commends the efforts to identify the victims. He agrees that the evidence confirms Han occupation of the fortress but remains cautious about declaring the site to be Shouxiangcheng without additional proof.
Looking ahead, Kovalev hopes to continue excavating Bayanbulag to further unravel its history and ensure its preservation. So far, less than 10% of the site has been explored, and looters regularly raid it for artifacts, creating a sense of urgency among Kovalev and his team. It is hoped that the Chinese many agree to step up security at the site, now that its importance for historical study has been revealed.
Top image: Battered skeletons plus extra unattached skulls excavated from site near Great Wall of China in 2009.
Source: Kovalev, et. al/Journal of Archaeological Science.
By Nathan Falde
