Rescueing the Archeological Excavations of the Vostochnyi Manych Barrow Group

Abstract

The article discusses the research outcomes of preservation of the archeological findings which were excavated from the three barrow groups of the burial ground in the region of the river Vostochnyi Manych. The excavations were carried out by Prof. U.E. Erdniev and Prof. I.V. Sinitsin from 1965 to 1967 in the construction zone of Chograiskoe reservoir. Earlier the findings of the excavations of the burial grounds Lola I and II, Arkhara and Vostochnyi Manych (1965) have been studied and the results of the research have been published. In 1966, the series of excavations including 165 mounds with 677 burials were conducted. The fi rst 49 excavated mounds are located on the left bank of the river Vostochnyi Manych. The second group of the 83 burial mounds is situated 8 km to the west of the first group on the left bank of the same river. The third group of the 33 excavated mounds, which is a continuation of the second group, is located on the same bank of the river as well. The great majority of the burials excavated within this period date to Bronze Age and make 84.5% of the total number of the excavated burials in these three mound groups. The archeological findings from the 1966 excavations are stored in the Kalmyk Ethnographic Museum. The article provides a list of the findings stored in the Museum among which there is a big amount of pottery belonging mainly to the burials of the Bronze Age: 56 clay vessels of various sizes and colours, and 7 clay incense burners. The next type of findings is tools made of bones and stones which are more typical of the Bronze Age than of the other periods of history. The next group of items consists of metal tools including the mirror made of bronze. The iron items are presented more widely, thus there are two arrowheads, two swords, two pairs of stirrups, an akinak and a spearhead. The results of the excavations were highlighted in the series of the articles published on the archeological expeditions in Kalmykia from 1979 to 1991. The prolonged interval had a negative impact on the evaluation of the work carried out. The solution to this problem is to collect all the materials together, to create a common database of all the projects undertaken in Kalmykia which will allow not only to preserve the heritage, but also to reconsider the results of the work undertaken.