The Del Uul mountain range extends approximately 17 km from west to east and about 8 km from north to south, consisting of numerous small, plateau-like rocky hills. It borders Khönjliin Uul to the south and Tsagaan Suvarga to the north.

The mountains preserve valuable material and intellectual heritage dating from approximately 3000 BCE to the mid-20th century. Nearly every mountain in the range bears rock art extending from the foothills to the summits. Many of the images are difficult to distinguish from the dark surfaces of the stone. The engravings were created using a variety of techniques, including carving and pecking with blunt-pointed tools.

The Del Uul complex contains approximately 3,000 Bronze Age petroglyphs, along with ancient stone enclosures believed to have served as shelters, around 20 square tombs, four inscriptions in the ancient runic script, and inscriptions in both Mongolian and Chinese dating to the period of the Tang dynasty.

The rock-art corpus is diverse in both chronology and artistic style. The images were created during different periods and do not conform to a single artistic tradition. Human figures are represented in several distinctive forms. One particularly unusual motif depicts a human figure without clearly drawn arms, with three branching lines extending from the head and a long object hanging down from the shoulders—an image rarely encountered elsewhere among Mongolian rock art.

Other remarkable depictions include a mounted figure wearing a broad-brimmed headdress and carrying a spear, a two-headed human figure holding a circular object in the right hand, and circular dots positioned above animals. These unusual motifs make Del Uul particularly significant for the study of prehistoric and historic visual culture in Mongolia.

                                                                                                                        Research and Conservation

The site was first identified in 1960 through a joint Mongolian–Soviet research expedition, which brought several of its archaeological remains into scientific study. Since then, a number of researchers have conducted further investigations at the site.

Del Uul was placed under state protection by Resolution No. 235 of the Government of Mongolia in 1998, and was reaffirmed on the protected heritage list under Government Resolution No. 175 in 2008.

To protect the immovable cultural heritage of Del Uul and ensure its long-term preservation, the site’s petroglyphs, deer stones, burial monuments, khirigsuurs, and runic inscriptions have been individually documented and photographed. Each monument has been assigned identification numbers, records, maps, and markers. Protective barriers and fences have also been installed around the rock-art areas to prevent vehicles from approaching the decorated rock surfaces too closely.

Del Uul. A landscape where thousands of years of human history remain visible on stone.