Satellite imagery may help find 800-yr-old 'secret tomb' of Genghis Khan

Satellite imagery and more than 10,000 people may help discover the tomb of blood-thirsty warlord, Genghis Khan, which has remained secret for 800 years even after his death.

The founder and Great Khan (emperor) of the Mongol Empire didn't want to be found after he died, so soldiers in his burial party butchered anyone they saw on their way to his burial tomb, then they killed the people who built the monument somewhere in the vast terrain of modern Mongolia and then, finally, they killed themselves, the Independent reported.

According to the study Ultra-high resolution satellite imaging enables a new paradigm in global exploration but the breadth of the search was so daunting and vast that researchers with the University of California at San Diego, led by Albert Yu-Min Lin, have outsourced the search to the general public.

The search was complicated by a number of factors unique to the quest for Khan's tomb. As explained by Vice Media's Ben Richmond, the Mongols absolutely hate archaeologists trampling on their turf disturbing the nation's most holy sites.

In fact, the spot where a lot of people thought Khan was buried was actually one of the country's most sacred spots. It's called Ikh Khorig, which translates literally to the "great taboo", but has been often called the "forbidden zone" by outsiders.

The research is published in the journal Plos One.