THE EARLY SCYTHIAN BURIAL MOUND TUNNUG-1: PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF THE EXCAVATION OF THE SOUTHERN PERIPHERY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14258/tpai(2019)1(25).-03Keywords:
Tuva; Tunnug, Arzhan; early Scythian time; burial types; Kokel; ritual objects; archaeology of the flood plainAbstract
The site Tunnug-1 is located in the Republic of Tuva, in the area of the Uyuk Valley, the so-called “Valley of the Kings”. The burial mound is located not on a high river terrace but in the flood plain (fig. 1), which seems to have led to permafrost conditions underneath the mound. These circumstances might have led to an excellent preservation of archaeological material. Preliminarily, the burial mound can be associated with the Arzhan horizon of the early Scythian material culture. Tunnug-1 slightly predates Arzhan-1. In the 2018 campaign, the early date of the mound was confirmed. The excavation on the southern periphery of the site revealed a dense cluster of structures postdating the construction of the main burial mound. This article presents the data gathered on several structures (fig. 2) of the first centuries AD (fig. 3, 4) and the Middle Ages (fig. 5, 6.-1). The location of the funeral and ritual stone structures in the low flood plain is uncharacteristic for all archaeological cultures presented in the recorded materials. Through reconstructing the paleolandscape and the paleoclimatic situation for all activity periods on the site we are further clarifying these circumstances. The excavation of the joint Russian-Swiss expedition will be continued in 2019.
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