Daily newspaper Magyar Nemzet published an interview with Borbála Obrusánszky, ambassador of Hungary to Mongolia. The Ambassador spoke highly of the cooperation agreement covering several scientific fields signed between the Institute of Archaeology of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Hungarian Research and stressed the importance of the joint excavation project of the Hun grave in Belkh relaunched after six decades in June this year thanks to the Institute.

- At the end of May, you had discussions with the President and other members of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences on the scientific cooperation between the two countries. The Institute of Hungarian Research signed a cooperation agreement with the Institute of Archaeology of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, which resulted in the launch of a large-scale joint excavation in June. What exactly is this project and what is its current state?

- The Hun tomb in Belkh I belonging to Ulaanbaatar is an important site for us for several reasons. The first excavations were started here in 1961 by the Hungarian-Mongolian archaeological expedition led by Tibor Horváth. It is of symbolic importance that sixty years later, the joint excavation continued at the same site again, thanks to the Institute of Hungarian Research. Valuable finds have been excavated, parts of a two-thousand-year-old ornate carriage, other utensils, decorations and coffin ornaments were found. The archaeologists found a leg bone, from which Endre Neparáczki has taken a DNA sample, which will be analysed to determine the family ties of the deceased noble person. This season, a medium grave and a secondary, commoner’s grave have been excavated, and archaeologists have begun cleaning the large tomb, which will be fully excavated next year.

– Is there a noticeable revival in the Mongolian-Hungarian historian relations as a result of Hungary having a "Mongolian scholar-friendly" ambassador? Or, more specifically, what was the extent of these relations in the past?

– As Ambassador, I believe it is important to strengthen bilateral relations as widely as possible, but as I am well-known in the cultural and academic community, it is understandable that many people have approached me and are approaching me with a view to cooperation, which I manage with my colleagues. Previously, such a high level of cultural and scientific diplomatic activity was not common. However, I believe that this is how we can draw the attention of the Mongolians to the special values of our country. This is also acknowledged by Mongolian politicians. At the beginning of 2021, a cooperation agreement was signed between the Institute of Hungarian Research and the Archaeological Institute of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, and the first joint excavation project in Belkh was carried out this year. In the meantime, the agreement has been extended to other fields of science besides archaeology. This was a revival of the cooperation established 60 years ago.

Read more of the interview on the website of Magyar Nemzet.