Kharkhorin museum is small,
but highly impressive – probably the country's best museum outside Ulaanbaatar.
Everything is beautifully designed and well displayed.The exhibits include dozens of
artefacts dating from the 13th and 14th centuries that were recovered from the
immediate area, plus others that were found from archaeological sites in other
parts of the provinces, including prehistoric stone tools. You'll see pottery,
bronzes, coins, religious statues and stone inscriptions. There's also a
half-excavated kiln sunk into the museum floor.
Perhaps most interesting is the
scale model of the ancient Karakorum, which aims to represent the city as it may
have looked in the 1250s, and is based on descriptions written by the
missionary William of Rubruck. Don't miss the doco detailing the excavation of
the 6th-century tomb of Shoroon Bumbagar, which is located 220km from
Kharkhorin.