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<< Our Photo Pages >> Berel Burial Mounds - Barrow Cemetery in Kazakhstan

Submitted by Andy B on Wednesday, 26 September 2012  Page Views: 7023

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Berel Burial Mounds
Country: Kazakhstan Type: Barrow Cemetery
Nearest Town: Berel
Latitude: 49.343553N  Longitude: 86.365564E
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
4 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
no data Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
1 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
4

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Berel Burial Mounds
Berel Burial Mounds submitted by Andy B : Berel Burial Mounds Photo credit: Z. Samashev/A. Kh. Margulan Institute of Archaeology, Almaty Site in Kazakhstan (Vote or comment on this photo)
Near the town of Berel excavations of ancient burial mounds have revealed artefacts the sophistication of which are encouraging a revaluation of the nomadic cultures of the 3rd and 4th centuries BC.

Note: Gold of the Great Steppe free exhibition runs until the end of January 2022 at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
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 122.0km NNE 15° Kalbak-Tash* Rock Art
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 123.9km NNE 17° Chuya Deer Stone* Standing Stone (Menhir)
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 268.3km NNW 332° Karama - Paleolithic settlement* Ancient Village or Settlement
 277.4km SSW 210° Shilikty Burial Mounds Barrow Cemetery
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Gold of the Great Steppe free exhibition runs until the end of January 2022 by Andy B on Thursday, 14 October 2021
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The Saka culture of Central Asia, flourishing 2,500 years ago, is largely unknown outside Kazakhstan. This exhibition will present artefacts from the extraordinary burial mounds of the Saka people of East Kazakhstan. The exhibition includes finds from three burial complexes in eastern Kazakhstan - Berel, Shilikti and Eleke Sazy - and from a settlement called Akbauyr

Recent excavations and analyses led by archaeologists from Kazakhstan have helped us understand much better how the Saka lived and travelled, the things they made and what they believed in. They have revealed a distinctive, advanced society, which is still being uncovered as modern archaeological methods enable scholars and scientists to find and analyse not only burial mounds but also the remnants of settlements.

The Saka occupied a landscape of seemingly endless steppe to the west, bounded by mountains to the east and south. Known as fierce warriors, they were also skilled craftspeople, producing intricate gold work. Their artistic language indicates their deep respect for the animals around them – both real and imagined. They dominated their landscapes with huge burial mounds of ambitious construction, burying elite members of their society with their horses.

This exhibition is be built around material from three different burial complexes in East Kazakhstan: Berel, Shilikty and Eleke Sazy. Saka society included agriculturalists, pastoralists, nomads, settled people, warriors, those engaging in ritual practice, with immense technological skill and deep knowledge of wild and tamed animals. Only now are we beginning to understand their culture and how it relates to the people who live in Central Asia today.

Exhibition is at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge More details and booking for this free exhibition are here
https://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/visit-us/exhibitions/gold-of-the-great-steppe
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    Review - breathtaking exhibition reveals lives of history’s ‘barbarians’ by Andy B on Thursday, 14 October 2021
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    Gold of the Great Steppe - Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.

    From their astounding burial mounds to their dazzling horses dressed up as mythical beasts, this exhibition about Kazakhstan’s ancient nomads shows the power of archaeology to revive the dead

    A young archer was buried around 2,700 years ago in the foothills of the Tarbagatay mountains of eastern Kazakhstan. In 2018, his bones were found preserved in the permafrost, surrounded by exquisite ornaments and weapons: beautifully observed figures of deer, finely crafted holders for his bow and arrows and dagger, myriad tiny beads – “and everywhere”, as Howard Carter said of Tutankhamun’s tomb, “the glitter of gold”.

    Great archaeological discoveries don’t have to be full of gold, but it helps. That warm yellow metal catches your eye almost wherever you look in the Fitzwilliam’s stunning snapshot of archaeology in action. Gold scabbards, gold torques, gold animals – they all light up a display that also includes miraculously preserved felt and leather, as well as reconstructions of the ancient people of Kazakhstan in their woollen finery, on horses dressed up to resemble mythical beasts.

    And it is all new. Well, newly on show – most of the objects date from the eighth to sixth centuries BC, but they are freshly excavated. Many items were discovered just last year. The exhibition has been created in close collaboration with Kazakhstan’s archaeologists as they worked through lockdowns to head off tomb-raiders and ensure these ancient wonders are unearthed before global warming destroys the permafrost that preserves organic materials.

    It is moving to look on the gold traces that surround the dead archer, thought to have been 17 or 18 when he was buried. His bones are not here but his body is outlined by his funeral possessions. Archaeology has this power to let the dead speak to us across space and time – “and I rose from the dark”, as Seamus Heaney says in the voice of a victim in one of his vivid poems about ancient bog burials. This exhibition grasps and communicates the poetry of archaeology, giving plenty of scientific fact but preserving a lucid sense of encounter.

    More at
    https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/sep/23/gold-of-the-great-steppe-review-fitzwilliam-cambridge-barbarians
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    Ancient gold Kazakh treasures shed light on Saka people by Andy B on Thursday, 14 October 2021
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    Astounding gold artefacts belonging to a prehistoric nomadic warrior horse people are going on display in the UK for the first time.

    Many of the treasures were recently discovered in Saka burial mounds in East Kazakhstan - part of an ancient culture which is largely unknown outside the central Asian country.

    They left no written accounts of their beliefs and culture, but the latest archaeological techniques are starting to reveal their secrets.

    BBC News has been finding out more about the artefacts at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, to discover who the Saka really were.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-58487544
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Kazakhstan: Recent Archeological Finds Clarify Ancient Steppe Peoples by bat400 on Thursday, 31 October 2013
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Recent findings suggest that the ancient nomadic societies of the Steppe operated in ways that do not bear much resemblance to the brutal and rudimentary picture of life that lingers in the popular imagination.

Claudia Chang, an archeologist (Sweet Briar College, Virginia) who has been conducting digs in Kazakhstan’s Semirechye region, just outside Almaty, for nearly 20 years, has published her findings, along with works by eight other specialists, in a new monograph on Iron-Age archeology in Kazakhstan. The book, “Nomads and Networks: The Ancient Art and Culture of Kazakhstan,” was published in conjunction with an eponymous museum exhibition.

The Nomads and Networks exhibition sought to place artifacts from the Saka, Wusun and Pazyryk cultures of the first millennium BC within the context of other nearby early cultures in Persia and China. Objects like the intricate Wusun Diadem, a golden latticework inlaid with turquoise- and coral-specked animals; and dozens of gold cat and ibex plaques from Shilikty in the Tarbagatai Mountains were selected partly to show off their similarity to Persian and Chinese imagery, influences that were shared mainly through trade.

Displaying the trove of intricate golden objects made by the Steppe tribes served another function: to provide a corrective to the less-than-flattering portrayals of ancient Central Asian societies.
“The view that nomads are uncivilized, barbaric – no,” said Soeren Stark, co-curator of the Nomads and Networks exhibition and a contributor to the book. “This is a very developed culture, very developed arts. Nomadic elites were in close interaction [with other cultures],”
Since the Steppe tribes themselves left no known written records, studying what they left behind is doubly important, noted Stark. “Archeology becomes a very important research tool because we have to go beyond the stereotype that we read from their secondary neighbors,” he explained.

The museum exhibition appears to be part of a coordinated Kazakhstani government effort to fix Kazakhstan’s present-day international image as a modern economic and cultural hub in Central Asia that is also moving in the global mainstream.

Two chapters of the “Nomads and Networks” monograph focus primarily on recent discoveries at Berel in the Altai Mountains. Dozens of kurgans, or burial mounds, have yielded a bevy of artifacts, including wool, wood, and other organic objects, preserved by a layer of permafrost.

The Berel kurgans are also hailed by some as the crowning archeological achievement of independent Kazakhstan. The picture they paint of ancient nomadic life is one that many modern-day Kazakhstanis want to see, says Chang. But, she cautioned, the kurgan excavations yielded information mainly about how members of the elite horseman class of ancient Saka society lived and died. The mounds do not reveal much about how the commoners of Saka society existed. “The fact is, it wasn’t just people marauding with their horses. … The more we learn about nomads, the more we realize how cliché that term is. There were a variety of economic strategies.”

In her part of the Nomads and Networks project, a published essay and a blog, Chang outlined her theories of Saka and Wusun life based on less flashy evidence. Searching through the remains of farming settlements and relying on work done to identify animal remains, she has concluded that regular people often stayed in one place, contributing food, and perhaps manpower, to the warrior elite’s armies.

Curator Alexander Nagel, Smithsonian’s Freer and Sackler galleries, took a stab at how artifacts in the exhibition can align with Chang's theory. "When you imagine how many artists took part on this production, you also get the idea of what kind of life it was," he said. "Who were the artists? ... The whole community took part in the construction of these kurgans."

Thanks to coldrum for the link. For more, see Read the rest of this post...
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New York Times Article on same 'Nomads and Networks' exhibition by bat400 on Tuesday, 18 September 2012
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Summary of article about an earlier venue of the show now at Washington DC's Freer Gallery:

Ancient Greeks had a word for the people who lived on the wild, arid Eurasian steppes stretching from the Black Sea to the border of China. They were nomads, which meant “roaming about for pasture.” They were wanderers and, not infrequently, fierce mounted warriors. Essentially, they were “the other” to the agricultural and increasingly urban civilizations that emerged in the first millennium B.C.

To their literate neighbors, they ... had taken a step beyond hunter-gatherers but were well short of settling down to planting and reaping, or the more socially and economically complex life in town.

But archaeologists in recent years have moved beyond this mind-set by breaking through some of the vast silences of the Central Asian past.

Some of the most illuminating discoveries supporting this revised image are now coming from burial mounds, called kurgans, in the Altai Mountains of eastern Kazakhstan, near the borders with Russia and China. From the quality and workmanship of the artifacts and the number of sacrificed horses, archaeologists have concluded that these were burials of the society’s elite in the late fourth and early third centuries B.C. By gift, barter or theft, they had acquired prestige goods, and in time their artisans adapted them in their own impressive artistic repertory.

Almost half of the 250 objects in a new exhibition, “Nomads and Networks: The Ancient Art and Culture of Kazakhstan,” are from these burials of a people known as the Pazyryk culture.

Walking through the exhibit, Dr. Jennifer Y. Chi pointed to nomad treasures, remarking, “The popular perception of these people as mere wanderers has not caught up with the new scholarship.”

Excavation at the Altai kurgans, near the village of Berel, was begun in 1998 by a team led by Zainolla S. Samashev, director of the Margulan Institute of Archaeology, on a natural terrace above the Bukhtarma River. Some work had been done there by Russians in the 19th century. But the four long lines of kurgans, at least 70 clearly visible, invited more systematic exploration.

Thanks to coldrum for the link. For more, see the article by JOHN NOBLE WILFORD
about the same show when it was in New York, earlier this year.
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Preservation of the Frozen Tombs of the Altai Mountains by Andy B on Monday, 17 September 2012
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Lots of amazing illustrations in this UNESCO document

Preservation of the Frozen Tombs of the Altai Mountains (PDF file)

http://whc.unesco.org/uploads/news/documents/news-433-1.pdf
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Video - The Ancient Art and Culture of Kazakhstan by Andy B on Monday, 17 September 2012
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"Nomads and Networks" Exhibition on View till end November by Andy B on Monday, 17 September 2012
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"Nomads and their relationship: The Ancient Art and Culture of Kazakhstan" opened on August 15, 2012 at the Smithsonian’s Freer Sackler Galleries in Washington D.C.

The opening ceremony was attended by senior officials, in particular, Alice Wells, special assistant to the President and Senior Director for Russian and Eurasian Affairs for the National Security Council and the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs James Moore, as well as Members of Congress and representatives from the business and cultural communities.

In his welcome to the guests, director of the Freer Sackler Galleries and prominent scholar Julian Raby said the exhibition marks the first time the U.S. capital city has hosted an exhibition of ancient items that represent the highest level of culture and art of the ancestors of the Kazakhs. According to Raby, the culturally rich discoveries from the mounds in Chilikty and Berel are national treasures of Kazakhstan and tell a story about the nomadic culture and the unique pieces of art it produced. He expressed gratitude to the Government of Kazakhstan for its support in organizing the event and highlighted the work of the Ministry of Culture and Information, Ministry of Education and Science, as well as cultural and historical institutions in Kazakhstan, including the Nazarbayev Center, for their assistance.

“The rich treasures discovered in Kazakhstan’s royal burial mounds tell a story of a nomadic culture that created works of art through their network of exchange with settled communities,” Raby said Wednesday at the exhibition’s opening ceremony which was also attended by a delegation from Kazakhstan, reports Silk Road Newsline.

“This multi-faceted exhibition carries many important messages not only about the sophistication of the great culture of ancient nomads but the importance of cultural communication in the twenty first century as well. Networking, partnering and being together is a road to survival and growth,” said Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to the U.S. Erlan Idrissov.

“This exhibition, which brings BC times to DC streets, will dispel many misperceptions about the nomadic cultures and nomadic societies,” said Ambassador Idrissov. He also noted “This exhibition is about gold. It is very timely right after the Olympics. So this is another bridge between ancient gold of nomads and modern gold of Olympics, where Kazakhstan took 12th place by winning historic 7 gold medals” prompting sincere laughter and applause from the audience.

He also shared his joy over the success of the project and thanked everyone involved in bringing the treasures from Kazakhstan to the US. He particularly pointed out generous contributions from Leon Levy Foundation, thanking its co-founder Shelby White. Also, he expressed his personal appreciation to Jennifer Chi, Exhibitions Director and Chief Curator, who in the words of the Ambassador, “traveled between New York city and Kazakhstan as a true nomad” to bring together the exhibition.

He continued, "because of successful cooperation with our partners, we are able to offer our American friends the beauty, elegance and sophistication of the work done by my Kazakh ancestors who made such a great, yet unsung contribution to the development of civilization."

Idrissov helped bring the exhibition to the Smithsonian, the world’s largest museum and research complex, with 19 museums, 9 research centers and more than 150 affiliate museums around the world.

Paul Taylor, Director of the Asian Cultural History Program for the Smithsonian, highlighted the importance of the exhibition as critical to understanding the evolvement of world civilization in an interview with "Silk Road Newsline". As an expert who worked on a number of Kazakhstan related projects, including a virtual exhibition "Discover Kazakhstan: the Expeditions of Chokan Valikhanov", he expressed his confidence that this

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Re: Kazakhstan's Nomads and Networks Exhibition Arrives in Washington D.C. by Andy B on Monday, 17 September 2012
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Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

Hours: 10 to 5:30

Location: 1050 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC

Phone/Website: http://www.asia.si.edu/
(202) 633-1000
info@si.edu

Nomads and Networks: The Ancient Art and Culture of Kazakhstan

Now - November 12, 2012

Spectacular gold objects and monumental gilded horns dating from the first millennium BCE were excavated in recent years from burial mounds (kurgans) in the vast grasslands and steppes of Kazakhstan, the largest country in Central Asia. These finds, many never before shown in the United States, constitute a brilliant introduction to the nomadic and settlement cultures of the ancient peoples in Kazakhstan. On view are more than 150 objects that reveal a powerful and highly sophisticated culture with strategic migratory routes and active networks of communication and exchange. The exhibition also explores a form of Eurasian nomadism centered around an elite culture of horseback warfare, as well as illuminate the central role of horses in Pazyryk culture.

http://www.gosmithsonian.com/museums/arthur-m-sackler-gallery/
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Kazakhstan's Nomads and Networks Exhibition Arrives in Washington D.C. by Andy B on Monday, 17 September 2012
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The first U.S. exhibition devoted entirely to the nomadic culture of ancient Kazakhstan makes its Washington, D.C., debut at the Smithsonian’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. The event is being organized by the Kazakh Embassy in Washington D.C. and the Sackler Gallery.

The “Nomads and Networks: The Ancient Art and Culture of Kazakhstan” exhibition will remain on display through Nov. 12, and is aimed at dispelling the misplaced notion that nomadic societies were less developed than sedentary ones. More than 150 objects of gold, horn, precious gems and organic materials -- mostly excavated within the past 15 years -- reveal a powerful and highly developed culture with strategic migratory routes and sophisticated networks of communication, trade and exchange.

On this happy occasion, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the U.S., Erlan Idrissov said, "because of successful cooperation with our partners, we are able to offer our American friends the beauty, elegance and sophistication of the work done by my Kazakh ancestors who made such a great, yet unsung contribution to the development of civilization."

“The topic of nomads and ‘networkers’ has special relevance to Washington, D.C.,” said Alexander Nagel, Curator of Ancient Near Eastern Art at Sackler’s Freer Gallery of Art. “Washingtonians are by nature nomads who are travelling through the city for a limited period of time, but rely heavily on personal and commercial networks every day, giving the exhibition a unique connection to D.C.”

For more than three millennia, nomadic societies helped to shape the cultural landscape of the Eurasian steppe. In southern and eastern Kazakhstan, carefully determined migratory routes traced paths between lowland pastures, used in the winter, and alpine highlands, occupied during the warmer summer months. “Nomads and Networks” explores a form of Eurasian nomadism centered on an elite culture of horseback warfare.

While not fully developed until the Iron Age, this unique way of life spread quickly across the Eurasian steppe, yielding the magnificent objects on display in the exhibition. On loan from Kazakhstan’s four national museums, the exhibition offers insight into the lives of the people of the Altai and Tianshan Mountain regions in the eastern part of the country from roughly the eighth to the first centuries BCE.

“The works on display represent the highlights and great achievements of Kazakh archaeology,” said Nagel. “The increasing frequency and sophistication of scientific excavations in the area allow archaeologists to reconstruct nomadic life in far greater detail than ever before. Still, we are only just beginning to understand these fascinating and complex societies.”

“Nomads and Networks” presents spectacular, superbly preserved finds from Berel, an elite burial site of the Pazyryk culture located near the border with Russia, Mongolia and China, where permafrost conditions enabled the natural preservation of rare organic materials. Set amidst vast green grasslands in a visually stunning landscape, the burial mounds -- or “kurgans” -- have yielded hundreds of finds that give archaeologists and laypersons alike unique insight into the long-hidden culture. Each excavated kurgan contained at least one horse, sometimes many more, and the exhibition illuminates the central role of the animal in Pazyryk culture. Through remarkable works of art, visitors encounter a people fascinated by their encounters with nature and animals.

Among the many spectacular objects are bronze stands, superbly decorated with horse and rider figurines, carved stone markers – or “stelai” – that were laid at important places in the landscape, as well as dazzling gold adornments that signified the elevated social status of those who wore or were buried with them.

The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, located at 1050 Independence Avenue S.W., and the adjacent Freer Gallery of Art, located at 12t

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