Coming Soon: Raiders of the Lost Tomb

By MICHAEL D. LEMONICK

They call him "Illinois" Kravitz, and while the bearded, overweight Chicagoan is no Indiana Jones, he is convinced he has unlocked one of the great secrets of the ages: the location of Genghis Khan's tomb. Never mind that archaeologists have searched for the tomb for years without success. And forget that Maury Kravitz, 62, is a commodities trader and lawyer with no professional training in archaeology. His 34-year obsession with the Mongol leader has made him probably the best-informed amateur Genghis scholar in the world. About eight years ago, he found (he won't say where) what he thinks is a crucial reference to the burial site.

If he's right, then somebody messed up. By all accounts, Genghis Khan wanted his tomb to remain hidden. Even his demise was a secret for a while: he died during a military campaign, and no one was told until the enemy ruler surrendered weeks later. Then a funeral procession made its way north to the Mongolian steppe, a route that took several more weeks. According to Marco Polo, who arrived in Mongolia about 60 years later, soldiers accompanying the procession killed everyone they encountered, as well as some 2,000 servants, who were allegedly buried with the Khan. Later the soldiers themselves were executed. It is known that the tomb is on a mountain named Burkhan-kaldun, but no one has any idea where the mountain is.

! Except Kravitz -- says Kravitz. Archaeologists wish him well but seriously doubt his claims. Says Adam Kessler, who put together the Genghis Khan exhibit: "He has access to the same sources as everyone else, and we haven't managed to find the tomb. If he has any other information, he hasn't shared it." The latest unsuccessful attempt to locate the tomb took place between 1990 and 1992, when a Japanese team mounted an intensive high-tech search. "Maybe they didn't look thoroughly enough," Kravitz chuckles. Whatever Kravitz knows, he has persuaded the Mongolian government to give him exclusive rights to search for the tomb for the next five years. He plans to start as soon as he can raise the $5.5 million the expedition will cost.

With reporting by Andrea Dorfman/New York and Sheila Gribben/Chicago