Everyone who is interested in history is well aware that a mound is a burial, where an earthen mound of a certain size is poured over the burial pit. Areas of such burials are found on Earth everywhere - with the exception of perhaps Australia and Antarctica. For example, in the Scythian burial mounds in southern Russia, numerous remains of representatives of the nobility were found. Naturally, in such graves, not only archaeologists, but also "black diggers" find many precious and rare things of great value.
Gold of the mounds
Many mounds were ultimately plundered. And it's also good if objects from these burials surfaced from time to time, settling in museums and private collections. So, gold items from the Altai mounds in 1715 were bought by the famous breeder A. N. Demidov and presented as a gift to Empress Catherine I. Peter I ordered to collect and buy archaeological rarities from miners and deliver them to St. Petersburg. This collection of more than 250 items was transferred to the Kunstkamera in 1726 and is now in the Hermitage.
Unfortunately, some of the burial mounds have been excavated by those who are looking for wealth, and already in our time. But there are still a lot of burials that specialists dream of working with.
Berel river valley
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In Kazakhstan, in the East Kazakhstan region, on the bank of the right tributary of Bukhtarma - the Berel River (in the Valley of the Kings, as the locals call it), there are more than 70 mounds. The Berelsk necropolis became world famous after archaeological research was carried out there in 1998-1999. They were taken up by a joint Kazakh-French expedition.
A lot of strange, mystical, happened during the work of archaeologists. To begin with, regardless of the international work schedule, it rained continuously for two months. On the way to the valley, the expedition cars were bound to break. But in the end, everything went according to the rules, and the finds did not take long. However, the oddities did not stop. For example, when the remains of a man were raised from an excavation site, a rainbow circle shone in the sky for several minutes. The local population said that it was the disturbed spirits of the dead who were outraged.
Although most of the burial mounds of the necropolis were destroyed in due time, much was found. And the most surprising thing is that in the three burials in due time … artificial permafrost under the mound was somehow created. The design of the burial chamber, its dimensions, the location of skeletons, household items and utensils, weapons gave scientists the opportunity to reconstruct burial rites and get an idea of customs and cults, the professed religion and mythology of the distant ancestors of modern man.
Finds
So, in one of the mounds at a 10-meter depth, archaeologists found a burial chamber. Its frame was covered with two layers of birch bark. Inside was a block made from a larch trunk. The deck lid was decorated with bronze sculptures of fantastic birds and appliqués of gold leaf depicting griffins. Their images and postures speak of a non-random selection of the entire burial ensemble.
In the deck lay a man and a woman with their heads to the east. The man, presumably the leader of the tribe, has a complex hairstyle: two braided braids in leather cases. According to the forensic experts, he was 30-35 years old, the skeleton - with traces of numerous fractures received at different periods of life. The last wound was fatal. The body of the ruler was embalmed, and it was to be kept underground forever. But the robbers visited the mound, thereby disrupting the thermal balance in the grave, and the mummy was badly damaged. Preliminary DNA studies have indicated a close relationship between a man and a woman buried nearby. Perhaps she was the mother of the chief.
The found ceremonial and decorative items of weapons and horse equipment are material symbols of power and wealth, symbols of a certain social status of a buried person. Gold items, as the embodiment of the eternal sun, emphasize the divine essence of their owner.
In the 8th compartment next to the burial chamber, 13 horses of red color are buried right in the harness. Permafrost, antiseptics and conservation ensured good preservation of the horse remains. This made it possible to analyze their digestive tract, determine the burial season, the local flora of that time. The horses are bridled and saddled - as if in order to immediately jump off the spot and help their masters to reach another world. On the heads of Berel horses there are striking masks of eagles with horns of mountain goats. These animals, as you know, were famous for their tirelessness and swiftness, the ability to climb steep cliffs. And the eagle was supposed to carry the souls of the dead to the sky-high distance. where, according to the nomads, there were "heavenly pastures".
The burial contained things that were believed to be necessary during these journeys: a standard with the image of a horned, winged and eared griffin, a military shield, beautiful bridle sets, bronze and ceramic vessels, jewelry, clothing. As well as a uniquely beautiful mirror in a leather case and an "altar" - a device for grinding herbs and incense.
And here is the mound, which was plundered. But here's what is curious - the manhole of those who made their way into the burial went exactly to the place where the grave and the compartment with the horses were connected. This suggests that the mound was "enclosed" soon after the burial ceremony, and then everything of value disappeared from there. Only the bits and saddles remained, on which strange applications were applied - sphinxes with a human head, goat's horns and the body of a lion.
Universe codes
During the excavations of the Berel necropolis, the researchers obtained a lot of unique scientific material, which allowed them to look into the world of the unknown. The Kurgan is not just a grave, it is a model of the ancients' perception of the world around them. The images of animals in the art of our ancient ancestors play the role of a kind of language that expresses their beliefs. In the elements of clothing, in the arrangement of the decor, there is a certain meaning, obvious to the contemporaries of the deceased, but not always clear to descendants.
Figures of real and fictional "kurgan" animals are of extraordinary beauty: representatives of the feline family, mountain goats and rams, elk, birds of prey and griffins, half-beast birds. Artfully carved from wood and covered with gold foil, they, according to scientists, are a kind of code that expresses the ideas of our ancestors about the universe that are mysterious for us. And it has yet to be solved.
Scientists do not know the self-designation of this people, although it is mentioned in history. Homer called its representatives Arimast, or - vultures guarding gold,”the Chinese called them yuezhi. The Arimasts mined gold in Altai, from which they made magnificent jewelry in the Scythian animal style. The various techniques for making these items arouse admiration: they are cast, carved, made in the form of a flat bas-relief, inlaid, riveted.
A dozen research institutes are currently working with materials extracted from the mounds: paleobotany, permafrost scientists, soil scientists, geologists, architects, paleozoologists, ethnographers, genetics, dendrochronologists and restorers. Much remains to be learned. Geneticists are trying to establish family ties of people buried in the mounds. Other scientists are trying to understand the technique of creating permafrost in burials and the methods of using antiseptics, trying to figure out the unique and rare way of preserving and mummifying bodies and solving other mysteries of the necropolis. Archaeologists want to get a detailed reconstruction of the funeral rite …
… Passing the mounds, we cast a scattered glance at these surviving traces of the ancient life of people, not thinking about anything. But the mounds are a silent reminder of the transience of human life and the frailty of life.
Valery Kukarenko. Magazine "Secrets of the XX century" № 31 2011