<< Our Photo Pages >> Arzhan Scythian royal necropolis - Barrow Cemetery in Russia
Submitted by Andy B on Sunday, 09 January 2011 Page Views: 14731
Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Arzhan Scythian royal necropolis Alternative Name: Arzhan 1, Arzhan 2Country: Russia Type: Barrow Cemetery
Nearest Town: Kyzyl Nearest Village: Arzhan
Latitude: 52.095992N Longitude: 93.710947E
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
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The kurgan Arzhan 2 consisted - like the tumulus excavated by Gryaznov - of a platform built from stone slabs which we now assume as being typical for the early Scythian period. The tumulus at Arzhan 2 had a diameter of nearly 80 m and was more than 2 m high, thus being slightly smaller than Arzhan 1. Three to four rows of more than 200 larger and smaller stone circles surrounded the mound at a distance of 20 to 50 m. Apparently such stone settings formed part of the concept of such large kurgans since comparable features have also been found at Arzhan 1 although here they consisted of stone mounds.
In the year 2000 initial excavations of the stone circles surrounding the large tumulus of Arzhan 2 revealed thin layers of burnt material containing small amounts of ash, charcoal and burnt animal bone (of sheep/goat, cattle and horse). Occasionally we also found smelted fragments of sheet gold and bronze objects. Without doubt these stone circles represent places for burnt offerings which were linked to a memorial cult connected with the burial. The excavation of the large tumulus at Arzhan 2 began in 2001 when slightly more than a quarter of its entire area was uncovered. Since southwest of the kurgan centre a large robbing funnel was visible, we initially avoided this area and instead opened three sectors in the vicinity: one in the centre of the southern half and a further two in the north and the north-west. In two of them we discovered Scythian graves: burial 2 in the north and burial 5 in the north-west.
More in the paper Complete excavation of the kurgan Arzhan 2
including an undisturbed royal grave (late 7th century B.C.).
German Archaeological Institute (also in German)
Note: "There is no reason to think that cancer is a new disease" - unearthing prehistoric tumours, and debate.
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