Due to the threat of the spread of a new coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the leadership of the Russian Geographical Society decided to cancel the third field season to study the Tunnug kurgan, located in the so-called Valley of the Kings in Tuva. Ensuring safety and maintaining the health of volunteers and participants is a priority for the organizers of the expedition.
We would like to recall that the Russian Geographical Society and the Institute of the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences have been studying the Tunnug kurgan since 2018. The first season showed that the burial ground is the oldest of all discovered, it belongs to the 9th century BC. The current field season, which was planned for the summer of 2020, was supposed to be the key season for scientists. There is a high probability to find preserved organic matter and various artifacts under the rock mound due to the fact that the Tunnug Kurgan is located in the permafrost.