Expensive jewelry, a bead necklace, and a torc (an elegant neck hoop) made of gold were found by the members of the expedition of the Russian Geographical Society and the Institute of History of Material Culture (IHMC) RAS in the kurgan Tunnug in Tuva. The burial ground has been investigated for seven years; to date, more than half of the mound has been excavated. This season, the archaeologists have begun to open the central part of it, where, according to scientists, there are burials of the Scythian nobility.
The beginning of work in the center showed that the grave pit is probably quite deep and densely packed with stones. But the first finds in the central part have already happened – this is another argument in favor of the version that the kurgan was not looted.
“The accompanying burial was found in a wooden block, in close proximity to the central chamber,” said Natalya Solovyova, Deputy Director of the Institute of History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Director of the Rescue Archaeology Department of the IHMC RAS, Candidate of Historical Sciences. “The burial turned out to be quite rich: jewelry made of gold, a bronze mirror, a knife, and an acinaces (a short Scythian sword) with a pommel in animal style, fragments of fabric, leather, and fur. In addition, braided hair has been preserved – most likely, this is a teenage burial.”
The analysis and processing of the artifacts is still ahead, but already now it is possible to draw the first conclusions: the found objects confirm the exceptional scientific significance of the study of the kurgan Tunnug-1. The excavations of the central burial are continuing; they are planned to be completed this season. And the next ones will continue to explore sectors that have not yet been explored.
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“The closer to the center of the kurgan, the more finds we see and the more ancient they are: in this field season, when approaching the central part, two accompanying burials were found,” said Natalia Belyakova, Director of the Expeditionary and Tourism Development Department of the RGS, Candidate of Historical Sciences. “In order to start exploring the center, you need to disassemble the periphery. Excavations must be carried out sequentially from the edge to the center, otherwise it will not be archaeology, but treasure hunting. Actually, that's why the study of nine of the 16 sectors took seven field seasons. The exploration of kurgans, especially those as ancient, big, and complex in layout as Tunnug, which was being created since the 9th century BC to the Middle Ages, is a systematic and consistent work.”
Theoretically, the central part should provide the most striking finds, but from a scientific point of view it is extremely important to get a complete picture of the archaeological site. After the completion of the work, the kurgan Tunnug will become an unprecedented example of a successful project both from a scientific point of view and from an organizational point of view: the scale and technical complexity of the work in an extreme natural environment with constant flooding for seven years have no analogues.