Sacred Sites International

09/01/2026

This is a newly inscribed site on the UNESCO World Heritage List: The Cemetery Complexes of the Xiongnu Royalty, Mongolia. The tombs date from the 3rd century BCE to the 2nd century CE. These eurasian peoples were mainly nomadic and their burial sites demonstrate a highly organized and complexly engineered manner of burying their dead.

The recreation of a noble tomb and associated tapestries and carpets are from the Chinggis Khan National Museum.

The photo with the aerial view was taken by G. Eregzen. The deep view of an excavation in progress was taken by N. Erdene-Orchir.

08/31/2026

This is Katsuragi Hitokonushi Shinto Shrine located 17-miles south of Nara in Gose City. It is dedicated to Ichigon-san who only hears prayers that use one word...in fact, small wooden prayer plaques -ema - look to be longer than one word.

There are also sacred rocks marked with ropes. Also, a famous 1200-year-old Ginko Tree that is a "Breast Shrine" -see the formations that look like hanging breasts - where women go to pray for lactation and breast health. In the broader sense these are places devoted to fertility.

08/29/2026

Here is the latest on the California legislation that would give California Indians more of a say over land and water rights.

The first California tribal member to serve in the state Legislature is pushing a bill that would give Indigenous people more say over their ancestral lands. But a surge of opposition has emerged.

08/29/2026

These are temples at Nara, Japan. It was the Japanese capital in the 8th century C.E. It has 5 Buddhist Temples and a Shinto shrine and an associative culture landscape which is part of all Shinto shrines. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

08/27/2026

Today is World Lakes Day. This is a photo of a sacred lake in the province of Rieti, Italy. It is called Lake of Cutilia or Lago di Paterno. It was sacred in antiquity as a place inhabited by an Oracle to the Sabines. It is considered to be an omphalos or sacred center of Italy.

08/25/2026

UNESCO declared Mount Olympus a World Heritage Site in 2026. It is both a natural site as the tallest mountain in Greece and a cultural site for its significance as the home of the Olympian Gods and Goddesses as well as the Muses and Graces.

08/23/2026

This is the largest megalithic passage grave in Japan. Located in Nara, it was the tomb of Soga no Umaka (c.559-626 CE) and originally was covered by a mound. It was designated a National Historic Site in 1935 and elevated to a Special Historic Site in 1954.

08/22/2026

We're also concerned about some sacred cottonwood trees imperiled by the Border Wall. They hold deep sacred, spiritual, and cultural significance for many indigenous peoples in the region, including the Tohono O'odham (Tona Atam) and Yaqui (Yoeme) nations, who are the original stewards of the San Rafael Valley.

A 200-year-old "grandmother" cottonwood tree stands directly on the U.S.–Mexico border in Lochiel, Arizona, where activists have maintained an ongoing tree-sit protest to block federal contractors from clearing it for a planned 30-foot double border wall.

Out of a small historic grove, three trees were felled in late July 2026, leaving this final towering cottonwood protected by continuous human occupation on both sides of the international boundary.

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08/21/2026

The Greater Chaco Canyon Cultural Landscape has been listed on the 2026 National Trust for Historic Sites 11 Most Endangered Sites List.

The Greater Cultural Landscape encompasses outlier communities, ancient roads and sacred sites spread over tens of thousands of miles and connects Chaco Canyon to the Mesa Verde National Park and Aztec Ruins National Monument.

The threat: Changes to federal land policy threatens to open up significant portions of the landscape to oil and gas development.

08/19/2026

This is an article about the Kumeyaay on the Mexican side of the Border Wall. Read this and learn about what they have lost because of the wall.

In northwestern Mexico and parts of California and Arizona in the USA, Kumeyaay elders are fighting to preserve their language and culture.