An unusual burial of the Pazyryk culture was discovered by archaeologists during rescue excavations near the old Beltir in the Kosh-Agach region. One burial mound contained two burials, made several centuries apart; an adult and a child without heads were buried in one of them. The heads were "thrown" to the burial later, said Nikita Konstantinov, head of the GASU museum complex, Doctor of Historical Sciences.
The mound was located in the Taldura-2 burial ground, it dates back to the V-III centuries BC. As the scientist said, this burial ground was recorded in the early 1980s, where the Moscow archaeologist Vladislav Mogilnikov conducted research. Judging by the plan of the monument drawn up by him in those years, by the time the GAGU expedition began work, one mound, recorded by the scientist, had already been washed away by the river. The next burial mound was also under threat of destruction, which could have disappeared already next year, so rescue excavations were carried out.
In the center of the mound there was a deep grave pit, where two burials were found. In the upper part of the pit there was a burial of a later time - approximately the first centuries of our era. As the archaeologist explained, the mound stood for several centuries, and then another person was buried there. Under this burial at the bottom of the pit was the "main" burial - V-III centuries BC. There were two people in the burial - an adult and a child or a teenager, and people were buried without their heads. Based on the location of the remains, scientists concluded that this was the case from the beginning, since there was no room for heads in the funeral block - the bodies lay close to the walls of the block.
From above, the blockhouse was covered with wooden logs, in which a hole was cut. Experts call such holes "predatory": some time after burial in ancient times, marauders cut through such passages in order to get into the grave and plunder it. The burials and the manhole date back to the same time. Archaeologists decided that the burial had been plundered. However, when it was opened, there were things inside - two bronze mirrors, fragments of pottery, clothes. And in the hole cut for penetration, a strange find awaited them - two skulls.
Scientists suggested that after the burial, a hole was cut through, and heads were thrown there. “In general, burials without heads are quite common in our country, which is associated with the participation of those buried in hostilities. The custom was widespread when cups were made from the heads of defeated opponents as a sign of triumph. But there are also children's remains, so it is difficult to say for now, but, most likely, here it was also connected with military actions,”Konstantinov explained. He also noted that double burials in Altai are found, but extremely rare. It is not always an adult and a child; there are also burials of a man and a woman.