In the ancient burial mound of the tomb of a nomadic “royal,” a farmer excavating a pit on his property discovered 2,000-year-old riches as well as a “laughing” man with an unnaturally distorted egg-shaped skull.
The chieftain’s skeleton was discovered adjacent to exquisite gold and silver jewelry, weapons, treasures, and artistic domestic goods in a burial in southern Russia near the Caspian Sea.
Rustam Mudayev, a local farmer in the district of Astrakhan, struck an ancient bronze pot in his village of Nikolskoye when his shovel made an odd noise.
He took it to the Astrakhan History museum for analysis and an experts opinion on the find.
‘As soon as the snow melted we organised an expedition to the village,’ said museum’s scientific researcher Georgy Stukalov.
‘After inspecting the burial site we understood that it to be a royal mound, one of the sites where ancient nomads buried their nobility.’
The burial is believed to belong to a leader of a Sarmatian nomadic tribe that dominated this part of Russia until the 5th century AD, and other VIPs of the ancient world, including a ‘laughing’ young man with an artificially deformed egg-shaped skull and excellent teeth that have survived two millennia.
‘We have been digging now for 12 days,’ said Mr Stukalov.
‘We have found multiple gold jewellery decorated with turquoise and inserts of lapis lazuli and glass.’
The most ‘significant’ finds is seen as a male skeleton buried inside a wooden coffin.
This chieftain’s head was raised as if it rested on a pillow and he wore a cape decorated with gold plagues.
Archaeologists found his collection of knives, items of gold, a small mirror and different pots, evidently signalling his elite status.
They collected a gold and turquoise belt buckle and the chief’s dagger along with a tiny gold horse’s head which was buried between his legs, and other intricate jewellery.
A farmer digging a pit on his land unearthed 2,000-year-old treasure inside the ancient burial mound of the tomb of a nomadic ‘royal’, along with a ‘laughing’ man (pictured) with an artificially deformed egg-shaped skull. Shaping and elongating the skull in this way was popular on various continents among ancient groupings like the Sarmatians, Alans, Huns and others
The burial is believed to belong to a leader of a Sarmatian nomadic tribe that dominated this part of Russia until the 5th century AD
Pieces of jewellery were found in the burial pit alongside the dead humans and animals and experts believe they were gifts for the dead
The chief’s dagger was buried with him and places alongside his body, between his hand and leg (pictured)
Nearby was a woman with a bronze mirror who had been buried with a sacrificial offering of a whole lamb, along with various stone items, the meaning of which is unclear.
Another grave was of an elderly man – his skeleton broke by an excavator – but buried with him was the head of his horse, its skull still dressed in an intricate harness richly decorated with silver and bronze.
Also in the burial mound was the skeleton of a young man with an artificially deformed egg-shaped skull.
The shape is likely to have been ‘moulded’ either by multiple bandaging or ‘ringing’ of the head in infancy.
Such bandages and or rings were worn for the first years of a child’s life to contort the skull into the desired shape.
Shaping and elongating the skull in this way was popular on various continents among ancient groupings like the Sarmatians, Alans, Huns and others.
Such deformed heads were seen a sign of a person’s special status and noble roots, and their privileged place in their societies, it is believed.
The burials date to round 2,000 years ago, a period when the Sarmatian nomadic tribes held sway in what is now southern Russia.
‘These finds will help us understand what was happening here at the dawn of civilisation,’ said Astrakhan region governor Sergey Morozov.
Excavation is continuing at the site.
The gold jewellery and the buckle (pictured) are thought to be signs of the person’s nobility and would only have been afforded to the most wealthy people
A gold and turquoise horse head was buried between the chief’s’ legs (pictured). The small but valuable find is just one of many important artefacts in the burial pit
Source: dailymail.co.uk
