In the summer of 2016, a group of Kazakh and foreign archaeologists excavated one of the Berel kurgans in East Kazakhstan. Burial of a noble woman, dated to the second half of the 4th century BC. e., revealed to scientists the secrets of the life of our distant ancestors.
4th century BC. The funeral procession moves along the picturesque green valley of the Bukhtarma River. This area, surrounded on three sides by mountains and rivers, is considered sacred by the local tribes. Having reached the edge of the burial pit, marked by a stone circle, the deceased's fellow tribesmen put her embalmed body in a log. They lowered this wooden sarcophagus to the bottom of a five-meter pit. Buried during her lifetime was a representative of the local elite, perhaps even a queen. To emphasize her high social status, she was dressed in a caftan embroidered with many gold plates. Next to the woman, they left her personal belongings that could be useful in the afterlife. Seven fiery stallions were lowered into the grave next to her. One of the horses was wearing a leather mask decorated with gold plates in the form of mythical animals. Apparentlythese horses must deliver the buried woman to the kingdom of the dead …
Photo: Evgeny Braiko
Perhaps just such a picture would appear to your gaze if you found yourself in the Berelskaya Valley 2,500 years ago. In our time, there is a museum-reserve. On its territory there are more than 100 mounds dating back to two eras: V-IV centuries. BC e, as well as the early Turkic period (VII-VIII centuries AD). Exploration of the Berel kurgans began in the middle of the 19th century. In 1865, the famous Russian orientalist Vasily Radlov excavated mound No. 1, called the "Big Berelsky mound". The burial of a noble person was accompanied by the burial of 17 horses.
Reconstruction of mound No. 11
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Since then, the study of the burial ground has not stopped, but the discoveries of the international expedition of 1998-1999 brought real world fame to the Berel kurgans. A group of archaeologists from the Institute of Archeology. AH Margulan, under the leadership of Zeinolla Samashev, together with scientists from research centers in France and Italy and various universities of the republic, dug mound No. 11. A man, a woman and 13 horses were buried in a rich burial.
Among the most valuable finds of this burial are a diadem, a breastplate, ritual objects, weapons, massive pendants with the image of a three-dimensional elk head, decorated with gold plates and horns of horse masks, numerous golden figurines of real and mythical animals. Many items have been well preserved due to the unique construction of the mound, which artificially recreates the permafrost conditions. The burial was built during the cold season. The burial mound of the mound, consisting of large slabs, did not allow heat to penetrate into the burial chamber, preserving permafrost.
In 2016, archaeologists returned to the Berel Valley of the Kings. This time, the excavations are taking place within the framework of the archaeological research plan for 2016–2018, developed on behalf of the akim of the East Kazakhstan region Danial Akhmetov and financed from the regional budget. In addition to the Berel circles, the project includes five objects: the Shilikta kurgans in the Zaisan region, the Ablaikit Dzhungar monastery, the Kyrykungir monuments in the Abay region and the Elek sazy in Tarbagatai. In Berel, excavations began on 24 May. About 60 people took part in the field work. For the most part, these are first-year students of the East Kazakhstan State University, students-archeologists of KazNU named after al-Farabi, employees of the museum-reserve and other museums of the country. Archaeologists from Russia, scientists from Turkey and Japan also took part in the excavations. The project leader was the author of the opening of the 11th mound, Zeinolla Samashev.
Photo: Evgeny Braiko
First, the researchers carefully removed the sod layer of soil. The aboveground part of the mound, which was 2–3 meters high, has not survived to this day. The stone embankment was dismantled for construction back in Soviet times. Scientists have discovered a stone structure in the shape of a perfect circle under the present layer of soil. Having carefully fixed all the details of the grave circle, they continued excavations, cutting the grave pit from north to south and from west to east. Thanks to this, they were able to determine the approximate burial place, called the grave spot.
Burial pit five meters deep
Working first with an excavator, and then, clearing the grave manually with the help of shovels and brushes, the scientists gradually deepened 5 meters from the ancient surface of the earth, on which the mound builders walked. There a wooden blockhouse with the burial of a woman and seven horses was discovered.
The remains of the buried
The ceilings of the burial chamber have rotted away, leaving only external traces of them. The remains of the woman were located in a block cut from larch. Archaeologists immediately noticed that they were in an unnatural position. Scientists have determined that the mound was plundered by the contemporaries of the deceased.
“We noticed the traces of the robbery when the excavations had just begun. They are clearly visible in the southeastern part of the grave pit. We assume that the plundering took place several decades after the construction of the mound. If you look at the position of the body of the buried, it becomes clear that her remains had not yet had time to decompose when the robbers entered. They dragged them to the corner of the wooden blockhouse, - says archaeologist Zhalgas Zhalmaganbetov.
The deceased, apparently, was dressed in a robe embroidered with gold. Apparently, it was a very rich burial, which indicates the high social status of this woman.
Gold patch with thread from the funeral robe
Despite the looting of the burial, scientists still managed to find several valuable artifacts. They found delicate gold stripes with zoomorphic and geometric designs. One of them even has a thread from a funeral garment.
- The buried, apparently, was dressed in a robe embroidered with gold. Apparently, it was a very rich burial, which speaks of the high social status of this woman, - explains the head of the research project for mound No. 2 Zeinolla Samashev.
Big Berelskiy Kurgan
Scientists believe that the mound No. 2 they are investigating is directly related to the nearby Big Berel mound No. 1, excavated by Radlov in the middle of the 19th century. According to archaeologists, the woman from the second burial mound was the closest relative of the leader from the first burial. Perhaps she was even his wife.
- The date of the construction of the Big Berel kurgan is 367 BC. It is located very close to mound No. 2. When we started excavations, we immediately assumed that someone very close to a man from a neighboring mound was buried in our burial. It was found that mound 2 was built 2–20 years later than the first. We have a working version that the buried woman was a queen, the wife of a leader from mound No. 1,”explains Zeynolla Samashevich.
She was probably suffering from some kind of medical condition and was using grated hemp as a pain reliever.
Investigation of mound No. 2 added information about the life of the tribes that lived on the territory of East Kazakhstan 2,500 years ago. In many ways, this was a typical female burial of that time. A bronze mirror with a handle in the shape of a snow leopard and beads of glass and precious stones were discovered next to the remains. A curious detail was a stone grater with the remains of hemp seeds.
- We determined that at the time of her death the woman was about 30–35 years old. At that time, it was already a considerable age. She was probably suffering from some kind of medical condition and was using grated hemp as a pain reliever.
Vessels with funeral food
Nearby, he was buried, two ceramic vessels were found. They are in excellent condition. Ritual food was stored in them.
In addition to earthenware jugs, there was also a semi-rotted wooden vessel.
Remains of burial food
To the left of the wooden frame are the sacral bones of a ram and a horse. Scientists believe that this food was also part of the funeral rite. She stood on a wooden table that has not survived to this day.
Remains of burial food
Seven horses were buried with the woman. The thieves did not get to this part of the grave pit, and their rich funerary decoration was preserved on horses.
“The horses were wearing leather masks covered with gold ornaments. One of them is made in the shape of a rooster. This is a rather rare image for that culture, but the images of birds played an important role in the mythology of these people, - says the leader of the expedition.
Small holes are clearly visible on the turtles of horses. They were killed by a strike on the head. The number of horses buried was not accidental. In addition to the fact that it spoke of the social status of the deceased, the number "7" may have had some kind of symbolic or magical meaning.
Not only horse masks, but also their harnesses are covered with jewelry made of gold foil. In addition to the figure of a rooster, images of deer and other animals are found in the ornaments of the harness.
Who was the woman buried in mound 2? What nationality did she belong to? For scientists, these questions still remain unanswered. According to the archaeological type, most of the mounds of the Berel burial ground belong to the Pazyryk culture. This makes them similar to the mummies found on the Ukok plateau, and to the burials found throughout Altai.
- As in the case of mound 11, the remains of the buried woman were also mummified, and the mound was built using the technology of “frozen graves” with artificial creation of permafrost conditions. The woman was buried in late spring or late autumn. The stones from the above-ground embankment did not let the heat through. If the robbers had not entered the burial, her body could have survived to this day, - says the archaeologist.
Archaeologist Zeinolla Samashev, head of excavations
- The burial belongs to the period of the early nomads or to the Scythian-Saka era. If we talk about the ethnicity of the deceased, then, judging by the Chinese sources, at that time the state of the Yuezhi people was located on this territory, which collapsed at the end of the 3rd century AD under the onslaught of the Xiongnu. Ancient historians indicate other names for this nationality, and we, apparently, will never know their exact self-name. Women of this ethnic group were dominated by Mongoloid traits, while men - 50/50 of the Mongoloid and Caucasian type, - explains Zeinolla Samashev.
We assume that tribal unions have reached the level of the early state in their development.
Remains of a nail in a wooden frame
Scientists believe that the representatives of the nomadic elite buried in the Berel kurgans were not just the leaders of individual tribes. They were the rulers of the tribal unions.
- We assume that tribal unions have reached the level of the early state in their development. That is why the leaders of these unions are conventionally called kings. Perhaps, in addition to the tsars, they had some other structures of state power.
The equipment of the horses, found in the Berel kurgans, is very similar to the harness of horsemen from the famous terracotta army guarding the tomb of the first Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang in Xian.
Artfully crafted deer antler figures are on display at the Museum Reserve
Fine jewelry found in the burials of the Berel kings testifies to the high level of development of society. Scientists suggest that it had mixed signs of nomadic and sedentary cultures. Artisans, blacksmiths, jewelers and metallurgists lived here next to nomadic pastoralists. Local tribes maintained trade and political ties with the Chinese states.
- There was a period of warring kingdoms in China at that time, and representatives of local tribes, perhaps, participated in their clashes as cavalry. The equipment of horses found in the Berel kurgans is very reminiscent of the harness of horsemen from the famous terracotta army guarding the tomb of the first Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang in the city of Xi'an, adds Zeinolla Samashevich.
- The finds from mound 2 revealed something new for us about the society of that time. We have discovered new motives in the animal style. Perhaps the most important discovery was the scale of the female burial itself and its location in the immediate vicinity of the largest burial of the burial ground. This indicates a high social status of women among the local tribes. This somewhat changes our ideas about the socio-political aspect of the life of our distant ancestors. Paleogeneticists from Japan came to study the remains. They took samples for further study. We can get from them a lot of interesting information about the way of life of the buried woman, her diet and other household details.
Turkic warrior
More modern graves are located a few meters from the Iron Age mounds. Under the leadership of Samashev, archaeologists excavated a small group of burial mounds dating back to the 7th – 8th centuries of our era. This is a Turkic burial. A skeleton of a man with a dagger and arrowheads was found in one of the burials.
A female burial is located nearby.
His horse was buried next to the owner. Scientists suggest that this is something like a family crypt. The presence of such burials in this area is evidence of the continuity of the Turkic culture from the earlier tribes of the Scythian-Saka period.
Among other excavations on the territory of the Berel burial ground, the current expedition is distinguished by one important fact. Scientists had not yet finished their work on the mound when its museification began. Akimat of the East Kazakhstan region plans to turn mound No. 2 into an open-air museum and a popular tourist site. About 40 million tenge was allocated for this project. The burial itself will be covered with a glass pyramid on top. The burial of the horses will be left intact and also placed under glass. A staircase that is currently under construction will lead to it.
- This is the first such case in the national museum business. Now, not only scientists, but also ordinary people will be able to admire the culture of our ancestors. By September 8, it is planned to complete the museumification of the object, - says Zeinolla Samashev.
Meanwhile, the remains of a noble woman will be sent to Gerasimov's laboratory to recreate her anthropological appearance. Later, scientists plan to restore her sarcophagus and return the bones to the burial chamber.
Archaeologists do not finish their research of the Berel Valley of the Tsars on mound No. 2. Soon they will begin excavating mound No. 19, located in another group of burials. Who knows what secrets of the life of distant ancestors will be revealed to science by the Berel kurgans …