NOIN-ULA. The burial ground belonging to the Huns (Xiongnu) is located in the Noin-Ula mountains in the north. parts of Mongolia, between Ulan Bator (130 km north of it) and Kyakhta.
The cemeteries in the Noin-Ula mountains were discovered in the 1920s by the Russian explorer Pyotr Kuzmich Kozlov, a colleague and disciple of Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky. These mounds belong to the Xiongnu - a people who in the 3rd century BC. e. created a powerful state in Central Asia. In European literature, the Xiongnu are sometimes called "Huns", although this is not entirely correct: the invasive raids of the Huns on Europe took place from the end of the 4th century. n. e., when the Xiongnu state had already ceased to exist.
According to the Center for Public Relations of the SB RAS, since 2005, an expedition of the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the SB RAS has been working in the Noin-Ula mountains. In 2009, archaeologists uncovered the so-called "royal" mound in the Suzzukte Valley, after its surface was examined with geophysical equipment. “On the initiative of Academician Mikhail Ivanovich Epov, geophysicists have been cooperating with us for several years now,” noted N. V. Polosmak, “Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences Pyotr Georgievich Dyadkov worked in our expedition.” A feature of the Noin-Ula kurgans is that they contain objects made of organic materials, almost the same as in the Pazyryk ones, but for different reasons. In addition to the harsh climate, this was facilitated by the great depth of burials, powerful burial chambers made of pine and clay soil. In the burialdating back to the first decade of the 1st century AD, discovered numerous fragments of textiles: silk and woolen fabrics with embroidery, elements of clothing, as well as precious lacquerware, gold jewelry, jade products.
As N. V. Polosmak, originally the fabric was a shapeless lumps covered with clay. Leading experts from Moscow and Novosibirsk, headed by a restorer of the highest category, Natalya Pavlovna Sinitsyna, from the Moscow Kremlin Museum, who at one time restored the clothes of the Russian tsars, began the restoration. Her team of restorers, as well as specialists from the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography SB RAS, Marina Moroz, Olga Shvets and Elena Shumakova worked with her. “I don’t think anyone could have done this work better,” Natalya Viktorovna appreciated the restoration of fabrics from the Noin-Ula burial mounds. “These are unique masterpieces worthy of the best museums in the world,” the archaeologist believes.
Some of the artistic fabrics, as it turned out, did not belong to the Xiongnu, but were probably made on the territory of modern Punjab in the Indo-Saka (Indo-Scythian) states that existed before the emergence of the Kushan Empire there. “The Huns controlled the Great Silk Road and used the gifts of many civilizations. In general, in ancient times people were much more mobile than we imagine it today, - noted Natalya Viktorovna. "The beauty of the finds is that these tissues could have survived only where they were found, and at the place of origin there are no conditions for their preservation for two thousand years." One of these "transit" finds was an embroidered carpet. According to scientists, it depicts the cult procession of the Zoroastrians. All participants in the procession are armed men:each Zoroastrian considered himself a warrior of Light and identified his faith with the war against Darkness. “This is clearly a sacred scene: its participants have solemn and stern expressions on their faces, their hands are raised in a gesture of adoration. Fully armed, leading a horse with them, they go to the altar, on which fire is blazing - one of the main components of the Zoroastrian cult, a sacred natural element and an object of worship,”comments NV Polosmak. In front of the altar stands presumably a priest, in whose hands a mushroom - according to Natalya Viktorovna, it (the mushroom) is the main component of the sacred drink "haoma" or "soma", causing divine illumination and creative ecstasy.on which the fire burns - one of the main components of the Zoroastrian cult, a sacred natural element and an object of worship”, - comments NV Polosmak. In front of the altar stands presumably a priest, in whose hands a mushroom - according to Natalya Viktorovna, it (the mushroom) is the main component of the sacred drink "haoma" or "soma", causing divine illumination and creative ecstasy.on which the fire burns - one of the main components of the Zoroastrian cult, a sacred natural element and an object of worship”, - comments NV Polosmak. In front of the altar stands presumably a priest, in whose hands a mushroom - according to Natalya Viktorovna, it (the mushroom) is the main component of the sacred drink "haoma" or "soma", causing divine illumination and creative ecstasy.
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According to the agreement with Mongolia, the cultural values found on its territory are returned back after restoration and study. Researchers of the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography SB RAS carefully prepare them for transportation, meet and check the cargo on Mongolian territory. The President of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Batboldin Enkhtuvshin, who visited Novosibirsk, assured the management of the SB RAS that the treasures would be kept in optimal storage conditions and accessible for inspection, especially since in 2011 the Mongol-speaking world celebrates the 2200th anniversary of the Xiongnu state.