Scythian Culture - Preservation of The Frozen Tombs of The Altai Mountains (UNESCO)

PRESERVATION OF THE FROZEN TOMBS OF THE ALTAI MOUNTAINS
Fig. 3 General view of
the horses found
during excavation of
the Berel’11 kurgan.
© Mission Archéologique
Française en
Asie Centrale (CNRS-
MAE) J. Vasquez.
those found in the other kurgans. Surveys carried
out with the assistance of a geo-cryologist indicated
that temperatures close to 0° C existed at a
depth of 1.5 m beneath the kurgan.
Excavation of the mound was carried out in
two phases, the first in autumn 1998 and the second
in spring 1999. Because of the monumental
shape of the burial mound – a massive stone
structure some 23 m in diameter and 2 m high
with traces of a looting shaft on the top – it was
decided to drive excavation shafts into the mound
in order to locate the funerary chamber and reach
the cold layers as quickly as possible and prevent
thawing from taking place. The burial pit, located
almost in the centre of the kurgan, measured 5 m
by 5 m and had been filled up with stones that had
fallen into it during previous looting. Excavation
of the tomb was delayed because of the mess of
wooden beams the chamber contained, caused
by the wrecking of the funerary chamber. During
our work at the kurgan, the ground, ordinarily
about 0° C, warmed rapidly, temperatures reaching
4 to 5 °C in the afternoons.
The first objects were found around four
metres below ground level three days before the
end of the excavations: two wooden horns in the
shape of ibex horns (Fig. 1) covered with gold
and silver leaf were found above the heads of the
horses’ bodies found lying on their sides against
the tomb’s northern wall. The horses were wearing
all their trappings. On the southern side,
clearance of the burial chamber revealed that it
had been covered with alternating pieces of birch
bark and branches. The walls were made of broad
wooden planks, assembled using mortis joints.
Many wooden objects were found in the shaft
that had been driven into the tomb by looters,
these being mixed with broken pieces of horse
trappings and organic remains, including bones,
pieces of skin and hair. Since winter was drawing
on, and a number of outstanding objects had
already been found, MAFAC decided to continue
excavation of the site during the following spring.
The mound was back-filled in order to guarantee
low temperatures during the winter, this helping
to preserve the objects.
Excavations resumed in May-June 1999,
when temperatures were around 15° C and thus
warmer than during the fall, average ground temperatures
now being between 4 and 7° C. The
excavations continued until the site had been
fully excavated.
The aim of removing samples of artifacts
from an archaeological site is to be able to guarantee
the proper preservation of the objects and
not to compromise future scientific analysis by
the use of chemical products. A special feature
of the Berel’ site was that the remains had been
preserved by their burial in frozen ground, and,
in order that this “cold chain” should not be
broken – which would have spoiled the information
the bodies contained (including information
on parasites and skin tattoos) – a refrigerated
lorry was brought to the site to store the recovered
remains (Fig. 2).
Two methods were used to remove the samples,
according to the materials. The bodies of
human beings and horses were removed in sections
and stored in the refrigerated lorry. No
chemical product was used, in order to avoid contamination
that could vitiate future biological
analysis, such as DNA testing. Other objects were
removed individually, and then humidified and
stored in a cold environment. In order to protect
the organic material from the sun during the
excavation, a light wooden structure covered
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