• Forums Software Updates

    The forums will be undergoing updates on Sunday 13th October 2024.
    Little to no downtime is expected.
  • We have updated the guidelines regarding posting political content: please see the stickied thread on Website Issues.

1,500-Year-Old Gold Buckles Depicting Enthroned Ruler Discovered In Kazakhstan

ramonmercado

CyberPunk
Joined
Aug 19, 2003
Messages
59,529
Location
Eblana
Picture this: Khagan of theGokturks.

1,500-year-old gold buckles depicting ruler 'majestically sitting on a throne' discovered in Kazakhstan​

By Tom Metcalfe published about 19 hours ago

The ornaments contain the earliest known depiction of a Göktürk "khagan," who probably lived in the sixth century.

We see a circular gold belt buckle that features a ruler sitting on a throne.

Some of the details on the best-preserved plaque have melted, but it shows a Göktürk khagan seated on a throne that represents two horses, flanked by kneeling servants. (Image credit: Z. Samashev)

Archaeologists in Kazakhstan have discovered two gold ornaments in a 1,500-year-old tomb that feature the earliest known depictions of the great khan, or "khagan," of the Göktürks — a nomadic confederation of Turkic-speaking peoples who occupied the region for around three centuries, according to an archaeologist who excavated the site.

The lavish gold plaques portray "the crowned sovereign, majestically sitting on a throne in a saintly pose and surrounded by servants," Zainolla Samashev, an archaeologist at Kazakhstan's Institute of Archaeology who led the excavation, told Live Science in an email. "This clearly depicts the sacred nature of power in ancient Turkic society."

The finds are from the Eleke Sazy site near Kazakhstan's remote eastern borders with China, Mongolia and Russian Siberia, where Samashev and his colleagues have worked since 2016.

The sixth-century Göktürk tomb holds the remains of a nobleman, probably a "tegin" — or "prince" in the Old Turkic language — whose burial site had developed by the seventh century into a "cultic memorial complex" that deified the deceased man, Samashev said.

Samashev thinks the prince may have belonged to the royal Ashina clan of khagans — meaning "sovereign" in Old Turkic, and the origin of the word "khan." The Ashina clan founded two Turkic states in the central Eurasian Steppes between the fifth and eighth centuries and ruled until they were conquered by another Turkic group who became

The two gold plaques were found in the central chamber of the tomb where the prince was cremated; one was badly damaged by the fire of the cremation.

Measuring about 1.5 inches (3.7 centimeters) across, both seem to be a form of belt buckle that would have had two ends of a belt threaded through a hole at its base so they hung down from the waist. Such buckles seem to have been a symbol of power in Turkic society, Samashev said, and may have signified that the wearer was a person of high status.

The khagan is shown in the center of each plaque, wearing an ornate crown and seated on a throne that depicts two horses; he is flanked by two kneeling servants offering food from a plate and a bowl.

These are the earliest verified depictions of a khagan of the Göktürk people, and probably of the great khagan himself, Samashev said.

https://www.livescience.com/archaeo...-sitting-on-a-throne-discovered-in-kazakhstan
 
Last edited:
Mustachioed mounds.

Archaeologists in Kazakhstan have discovered 10 kurgans, or burial mounds, dating to the Middle Ages, and some have "mustaches."

A burial mound made out of small stones with a cross shape intersecting it

The remains of a kurgan, or burial mound. In this case, it has two stone ridges known as "mustaches."
(Image credit: Courtesy of the Margulan Institute of Archaeology)

Archaeologists in Kazakhstan have discovered 10 centuries-old burial mounds, known as kurgans, dating to the Middle Ages.

Found in the Ulytau region of central Kazakhstan, three of the kurgans are what archaeologists call "mustached kurgans" or "mustache kurgans" Zhanbolat Utubaev, an archaeologist at the Margulan Institute of Archaeology who led the team that discovered the kurgans, told Live Science in an email. These are burial mounds with ridges of stone going across them, Utubaev said.

"Mustached" kurgans from the Middle Ages (from approximately 600 to 1500) are common in Kazakhstan; more than 400 of them have been discovered in central Kazakhstan alone, Utubaev said. These mounds have diameters ranging from about 10 to 50 feet (3 to 15 meters) in length, he said.

The team excavated one kurgan that does not have a "mustache" and found the remains of a man who was buried with an arrowhead that is triangular, Utubaev said. It's unclear who he was or how he died, but later research may shed light on his cause of death.
Related: 2,000-year-old gold jewelry from mysterious culture discovered in Kazakhstan

The exact date of the newly found kurgans is unclear, but they appear to date to the Middle Ages, according to a statement from the Margulan Institute of Archaeology. During that time, some people in Kazakhstan lived a nomadic lifestyle, while others were more settled.

The burial of a man who was interred with an arrowhead. He likely lived during the Middle Ages.(Image credit: Courtesy of the Margulan Institute of Archaeology)

The excavation of a kurgan in progress.(Image credit: Courtesy of the Margulan Institute of Archaeolo

For instance, many settled people lived in the city of Taraz, which flourished in southeastern Kazakhstan and was a major stop along the Silk Road between China and Europe. But other people in Kazakhstan lived a more nomadic lifestyle. The most famous of these groups was the Mongols, who conquered the region during the 13th century. The newfound kurgans may predate the Mongol conquest, but they appear to have belonged to a nomadic group.

https://www.livescience.com/archaeo...unds-from-the-middle-ages-found-in-kazakhstan
 
Back
Top