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

PRESERVATION OF THE FROZEN TOMBS OF THE ALTAI MOUNTAINS
Fig. 6 & Fig. 7
Horse trappings after
cleaning on site to
allow ease of
interpretation.
Photos: © Mission
Archéologique Française
en Asie Centrale (CNRS-
MAE) J. Vasquez.
the refrigerated lorry. All the remains were taken
to Almaty and stored at -14 °C.
During winter 2000, all the materials
removed from the site were investigated by a
multi-disciplinary laboratory team. This allowed
all the objects to be investigated under better conditions,
leading to a better understanding of their
substance and the analysis of the trappings.
Investigation of the bodies indicated that they
had been treated after death, for example by
threads sewn into the skin, and various anatomical,
biological and genetic tests were carried out.
The removal of samples of archeological
remains from the Berel’ necropolis led to the
recovery of many organic and composite objects
of every kind. Apart from the decorated horse
trappings, several saddles were also found, as well
as the sarcophagus and the architectural elements
of the tomb. For this kind of site, a so-called
“frozen tomb”, the procedure of removing samples
of the remains and then cleaning them for
readability in situ allowed the archeological team
to identify the objects as the work progressed and
to accumulate a lot of archeological information
at the site, while at the same time ensuring the
conservation of the excavated artifacts.
Nevertheless, the organic remains removed
from the Berel’ site will need freeze-drying treatment
in order to ensure their long-term preservation.
This should only be done in a laboratory
that has the necessary equipment and trained
staff.
Translated from French by Laura Frank
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