Amarbuyant Monastery: Conservation and Revitalization through Community Engagement and Digital Documentation

The Amarbuyant Monastery is a geographically and culturally significant
stop on the Great Tibetan Highway. Spanning from Lhasa to Ulaanbaatar, this route was used for the exchange of ideas and information by pilgrims and traders since the 13th century; forging cultural, economic and political ties that still exist between Mongolia and Tibet to this day. Towards Ulaanbaatar, Amarbuyant is the first temple complex on the route inside Mongolia territory, located close to the Chinese border. Many important historical figures have used this temple as refuge after crossing the Gobi Desert, including the 13th Dalai Lama in 1904. Although the complex was almost completely destroyed during the Soviet purges of the 1930s, reconstruction and conservation activities undertaken by the local community and lamas (monk teachers) have conserved part of the temple, and locals still gather for religious and cultural ceremonies. No historical maps are known to exist about the Mongolian side of the pilgrimage route and its temples. This is the first study to document the physical structures of the Amarbuyant temple complex for heritage conservation. In order to create a database and image collection of the temple, drone technology was used to obtain aerial views of the complex, highlighting archeological boundaries and structures. Interview surveys were conducted with nomadic
households living around the complex, resident lamas and students.
Results contemplate aerial documentation, retraced architectural maps, and imagery documentation of buildings and surroundings. Perspectives from local community members and their relationship with the temple, and exploration of future possibilities for conservation is discussed. This study creates awareness for the cultural heritage of the Gobi Desert, is a starting point for future studies, and will help contribute to a conservation action plan for Amarbuyant Monastery, and other archeological sites along the Great Tibetan Highway into the cultural heritage registry of Mongolia.