Disturbing the peace of the dead is not only bad but also unsafe. This is known to people from time immemorial - however, at all times there is no shortage of lovers to delve into ancient burial grounds. "Black diggers", that is, robbers, are attracted by the treasures buried with the dead, "white", that is, archaeologists, are attracted by the thirst for knowledge. But those and others, when invading the underworld, sometimes lie in wait for troubles, illness and even death. An example of this is the excavations in the Valley of the Saka Kings (Kazakhstan).
Almost like in Egypt
At the end of the last century, residents of three villages in the valley between the Bukhtarma River and its tributary Belaya Berel (now the Zaysan district of the East Kazakhstan region) realized that something was wrong in their district. Many people began to suffer from a terrible headache, from which no medication helped.
Cases of the birth of feeble-minded children have increased. Livestock perished from incomprehensible diseases in the farmsteads, yields from year to year became smaller and smaller. Even the weather has changed completely. Previously, winters were dry and calm, but now there are storms with squally winds almost every day. In summer, atmospheric pressure is very high.
The reason for all these misfortunes was quickly established. It all started in the summer of 1997, when an international archaeological expedition came to the valley between the Saur and Manrak mountain ranges to explore the local burial mounds. A long time ago, in the first millennium BC, a Turkic tribe of Sakas lived in this area. The tribe had a sedentary nomadic lifestyle. People grazed herds of horses, herds of cattle, sheep flocks, bred camels.
The Saki were skilled artisans: they melted metal, made weapons, tools, ornaments from it. They were warlike, they often fought with neighboring tribes. When a leader died or died in battle, a magnificent funeral was arranged for him, and a high mound was poured by the whole tribe at the burial site. There are more than a hundred such mounds in this area. Aborigines call it the Valley of the Kings, as in Egypt, but with a slight difference - the word "Saka" is added.
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Local residents have always felt some special mystical power emanating from these burial grounds, and tried not to appear here once again, so as not to disturb the peace of the dead. Back in 1863, archaeologist and orientalist Vasily Radlov, who studied Turkic speech, folklore, and the history of Central Asia, visited the Valley of the Saka Kings. From guides and local aksakals, he heard a legend about some ancient mysterious highly developed civilization that existed here in time immemorial.
Then she suddenly disappeared, and no one knows what kind of people they were, where they came from and where they left. Their secret is hidden and kept by the mounds, but one cannot even approach them, so as not to incur the wrath of the spirits. In addition, the peace of the dead is guarded by special spells uttered by the priests during the burial ceremony. Anyone who dares to break the taboo and dig the burial ground will inevitably bring trouble upon himself.
Local residents told about all this to the modern archaeologists who came to the excavations. However, scientists did not take these warnings seriously. And, as it turned out, it was completely in vain.
A series of troubles
At first, the archaeologists could not begin excavations for a long time, as it was charged with a continuous downpour for two months. Such precipitation in this area with a very dry climate has never happened before.
This was the first trouble. And then they went jamb. For example, as soon as the expedition vehicles approached the mounds, their engines stalled. All the equipment had to be dragged by hand.
And when the first penetrations into the burial grounds began, the researchers began to have health problems. They began to experience bouts of unexplained fear, temporary clouding of mind, and headaches. True, the archaeologists did not find any particularly serious ailments while working in the mounds. The diseases manifested themselves later, when the scientists returned to Alma-Ata to their work: they analyzed the finds, looked at samples, developed films, etc. So doctors did not associate the deteriorating health of patients with their work in the Valley of the Saka kings.
But the scientists themselves began to guess that the cause of their illnesses lies precisely in the excavations. The symptoms were very similar to those that arose among archaeologists who opened the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922. It is difficult to say what caused the deterioration: whether the curse imposed by the shamans really worked, or some harmful microbes got into the body. But some researchers began to refuse to travel to the valley. And then the local residents rebelled, in an ultimatum demanding to stop the excavations.
Somehow this conflict was settled. Perhaps the esotericists and local sorcerers invited to the expedition managed to somehow come to an agreement with the spirits of the mounds and calm down the population a little. Therefore, the excavations were continued. But the strange phenomena did not stop. Once, when the remains of an ancient man were raised from the excavation, a rainbow circle appeared in the sky, which frightened the local residents, who decided that in this way the spirits of the dead express their indignation at the invasion of their domain.
With great difficulty, it was again possible to extinguish the unrest, explaining to people that this is just an atmospheric phenomenon associated with the movement of cyclonic flows in the region, and there is no mysticism in it.
People and horses in artificial permafrost
Despite all the problems and obstacles, excavations continued. Although most of the burial mounds had previously been ravaged by robbers, archaeologists have managed to make many unique finds. At a depth of 10 meters, they dug up a wooden frame covered with two layers of birch bark. It was a burial chamber. In a block hollowed out of a larch trunk, there were the remains of a man and a woman.
The man, who was identified as the chief of the tribe, had an intricate hairstyle of two braids tied in leather covers. He was between 30 and 40 years old. The leader took part in many battles, as evidenced by the traces of numerous intravital fractures on his bones. But the last wound was fatal.
After examining DNA, scientists found that the man and woman were close relatives. Perhaps the son and mother were buried together. The bodies were embalmed to last forever. However, the robbers once disturbed the temperature balance and the remains were seriously damaged.
But the lid of the burial chamber especially struck the archaeologists. It was adorned with fantastic birds and griffin appliqué in gold leaf. These creatures are typical for the mythology of Ancient Greece, but not for East Kazakhstan.
Where did they come from here? Obviously, this unknown civilization had developed ties with Ancient Greece, as well as, possibly, with Egypt and other countries of the Ecumene. And this civilization had a fairly high degree of culture and possessed advanced technologies for its time.
This is evidenced by another stunning discovery. It turns out that the ancient people possessed the skills of building special stone structures, thanks to which artificial permafrost was created in the burials - a kind of refrigerator that worked regularly for about three millennia. It can be assumed that the ancient builders learned to create a similar effect thanks to their connections with the Arctic civilization of the Hyperboreans.
It is because of the artificial permafrost that the remains of 13 red horses found in the compartment next to the burial chamber have been preserved in good condition. All of them were bridled and saddled, that is, ready to take their departed masters to the other world. The animals were so well preserved that zoologists and pathologists who were called to the valley were able to analyze their alimentary tract and establish at what time of the year the burial was made and what vegetation was then common in Eastern Kazakhstan.
Reconstruction in the museum with the burial chamber of the royal burial of the Berel kurgan No. 11, where 13 riding horses preserved in the permafrost lens in full decoration, accompanying the Berel leader, were discovered
On the heads of the horses were masks depicting eagles with horns of mountain goats. Mountain goats are famous for their tirelessness and ability to climb the steepest slopes. And the eagles, obviously, were supposed to deliver the dead directly to heaven, to paradise.
Patience is overflowing
Meanwhile, in spite of the amazing finds, the expedition was far from brilliant. The spirits of the mounds, disturbed by the scientists, began to take revenge on the living inhabitants of the valley. The more intensively the excavations went, the more troubles fell upon the local residents. The peak of misfortunes fell on that period of time when archaeologists removed from the excavation the third "golden man", that is, the mummy of one of the kings, dressed in robes embroidered with gold.
The patience of the local residents was overflowing, and they demanded that all the remains removed from the burial grounds be returned immediately. This is the only way to save this area from disaster.
Gold stripes that adorned the attire of a noble Saka warrior in the 5th-4th centuries BC. e. Found during excavations of the Issyk mound
Quite unexpectedly, the powers that be listened to the demands of the population, and the Ministry of Culture obliged the researchers in writing to return the ashes of one "golden man" out of three. After that, the misfortunes became less, but they did not stop completely. Old-timers say that it was not enough to return the ashes to the grave. Now we must long and tirelessly ask forgiveness from the angry spirits of the ancient kings.
Reburial of remains (2013)
“It is no coincidence that misfortunes began here. Cattle were dying, there was a drought, floods came, they say, underdeveloped children were born in the villages. Remains should lie in the ground, not in boxes in other cities.
All our ancestors believed in this, it is the basis of all almost world religions. There is a lot of evidence that punishment overtook those who desecrate burials. After the burial, we think that everything will return to normal here.
In addition, we want to create a museum complex on the site of this mound. It is necessary to study and rethink our past, but at the same time to treat the kurgans with care. It is necessary not to abandon them after excavations to the mercy of fate and wind, but to turn them into open-air museums so that people can see with their own eyes how our ancestors lived,”said the initiator of the burial Aydin Eleubaev.
Victor MEDNIKOV