Tuva burials

The burial mound of Arzhan 2 in the modern-day Republic of Tuva.
The royal burial no. 5 is dated to the 2nd half of the 7th century BCE. More than 5700 gold items were discovered in the undisturbed burial of a royal couple.

“The two individuals in the prestigious burial no. 5, a man and a woman, were literary covered with gold. They were adorned with personal ornaments, such as torcs, necklaces, ear ornaments, pendants and pins. Gold also embellished the head-dress and boots, while a large number of appliqués covered the dress. The man’s upper garment, clearly a cape, was adorned by about 2500 small cast panther figures, while the woman’s cape was covered by much lighter, but aesthetically identical, panther figures worked in pressed sheet. In addition to gold beads, beads of different materials, such as carnelian, garnet, glass paste, malachite, and turquoise, are also present in the ensemble of personal ornaments. Other gold products, such as a miniature cup, a quiver and its carrying belt, as well as a wooden bowl with its handle covered with gold, are also part of this extraordinary discovery. Finally, iron weapons decorated with gold and silver inlay, such as daggers, knives, arrow-heads and a battle-axe form yet another category of these precious grave goods. The majority are decorated in the Scythian animal style.[…]
A significant part of the gold objects bear traces of wear, proving that they were used. However, there are also items without any traces of wear, which still maintain rough edges that make them unsuitable for use. They were most probably especially made for the burial and its ceremony” [Barbara Armbruster]

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1. Каталог выставки “Мир кочевников. Из археологических коллекций Государственного Эрмитажа” — Санкт-Петербург: Славия, 2013. — 132 с. — ISBN: 978-5-9501-0253-0.
2. https://siberiantimes.com/other/others/features/f0158-focus-on-tuva-where-ancient-shaman-traditions-are-alive-in-the-modern-world/
3. FOCUS ON TUVA: Stunning treasures – and macabre slaughter – in Siberia’s Valley of the Kings By Olga Gertcyk11 February 2016 https://siberiantimes.com/science/casestudy/features/f0212-focus-on-tuva-stunning-treasures-and-macabre-slaughter-in-siberias-prehistoric-valley-of-the-kings
4. An overview of the rich tomb in Tuva https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2016/02/15/overview-rich-tomb-tuva
5. Gold technology of the ancient Scythians – gold from the kurgan Arzhan 2, Tuva [La technologie de l’or chez les Scythes anciens – l’or du kurgan Arjan 2, Touva] Barbara Armbruster 2009 https://journals.openedition.org/archeosciences/2193
6. KINGS AND GODS OF ASIAN SCYTHIA (Based on the Material of the Arzhan-2 Barrow), K. V. Chugunov https://adiu.com.ua

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