The mausoleum is one of the oldest Muslim monuments in the world and only survived because it was partially buried, which prevented its being destroyed during Genghis Khan's military campaigns in the 12C. Uncovered in 1930, more than 1 100 years after its construction, it still bears the typical decoration of the Samanid Empire, with its arrangements of bricks imitating basketwork. The architecture means to evoke the universe, with a cube symbolising the earth beneath a central cupola representing the sky.