"Such luck comes along once every quarter of a century." Ancient gold was unearthed near Volgograd, where an industrial waste landfill was planned.
Archaeological excavations on the outskirts cities Volzhsky The excavations were commissioned by a company that had decided to build a landfill for industrial waste. Its territory adjoins an ancient burial mound, which is under state protection: back in the 17th century, the burial of a Sarmatian tribal leader was discovered here.
Over the past 400 years, not only scientists but also illegal treasure hunters have visited the site. According to archaeologists, they no longer hoped to find graves preserved in their original state.
«But when the handle of a bronze cauldron appeared during excavations, we realized who this burial mound belonged to.”- cited the archaeologist's publication "Volgograd News" Olga Shinkar.
The remains of two adult men and a teenager, who lived in the second century BC, were discovered in two graves. They were most likely members of the Sarmatian tribal nobility.
This is evidenced by the discovery of gold bracelets with combs and burial clothes strewn with gold beads and coins. The treasures also include silver tableware, bronze cauldrons with relief images of ancient Greek figures, iron swords in gold sheaths, sets of arrows, a bronze mirror, headdresses, and wooden bowls.
How to told Archaeologists told V1.ru journalists that a hole was found in the skull of one of the men, which was most likely formed by an arrow strike.
For Volgograd region The find is considered unique: according to scientists, such luck occurs once every quarter of a century.
The burials are located at a distance from the leader's central tomb. Archaeologists suggest that these are merely a subset of the graves surrounding the main burial mound, in keeping with Sarmatian burial tradition.
Governor Andrey Bocharov already He pledged to create a historical and archaeological center on this site, which will continue excavations.
Photo: Alexey Volkhonsky/V1.ru