User:Aida Zhuasbekova/Иссыкский золотой человек

The grand armor of the Saka king of gold scales on a leather base, which is a stylized cataphracti armor

"Gold Man "(kaz. Altyn Adam) - the code name of the archaeological find [1], made in 1969-1970 [2] 53.5 km from Almaty-Aty as a result of the excavation of the Issyk mound on the banks of the Issyk River [3], reaching height of 6 meters, and in diameter - 60 meters. It represents the remains of a Saka warrior in gold clothes [4] [5] [6] [7].

Description of the mound and finds

In 1969, a group of Kazakhstani scientists under the leadership of Kemal Akishevich Akishev discovered a unique archaeological complex of the Issyk burial ground. The Issyk Mound is a part of the burial complex located on the left bank of the mountain river Issyk, near the Issyk city, 50 kilometers east of Almaty. The burial ground consists of 45 large royal barrows with a diameter of 30 to 90 and a height of 4 to 15 meters. "Issyk Mound" was located in the western half of the cemetery. Its diameter is 60 meters, height - 6 meters. After the demolition of the embankment, at a depth of 1.2 meters from the level of the ancient horizon, two burials were discovered: central and lateral (southern).

The central has been repeatedly robbed. The side grave was not disturbed, the burial and buried inventory were completely preserved. The burial chamber was constructed from spruce-treated logs. In the northern half of the remains were found buried. Over 4,000 gold objects, an iron sword and a dagger, a bronze mirror, and earthenware, metal and wood were found in the burial chamber.

In the side burial chamber, felled from the trunks of the Tien Shan spruce, they found more than four thousand ornaments made of gold leaf, once sewn on clothes, shoes and a headdress, as well as gold rings, statuettes, bronze and gold weapons, various vessels. A silver cup with 26 letters was found in the burial (see Issyk letter). The find dates back to the VI — V century BC. e. The inscription on the bowl has not yet been deciphered. In the southern and western parts of the side chamber were placed dishes from wood, clay, bronze and silver, and in the northern part, on the plank floor, were found the remains of the buried, lying head to the west. On the skeleton and under it were found a lot of gold jewelry clothing, headgear and shoes. Nearby are laid out weapons and various utensils that could be useful in the afterlife. At the elbow of the left hand is placed an arrow with a gold tip; here, but above the elbow, there is a whip, the handle of which is spirally wrapped with a wide gold ribbon, and even higher — a bag with a bronze mirror and red paint. According to the anthropological definition of O.I. Ismagulova, the Issyk buried in a mound has a Caucasian appearance characteristic of the Semirechensk Saks with an admixture of Mongoloid features, its age is 16–18 years [1]. Due to the subsequent loss [when?] Of bone remains, there is no possibility to reconstruct the appearance or make a chromosomal analysis. Items that are in the burial can belong to both men and women. There are several options for reconstruction of the costume and headdress. Presumably, this is a Sak-Tigrahauda, ​​because he has a pointed headdress on his head, 70 cm high, adorned with gold plates and metal plates depicting horses, leopards, ibex, birds, trees. On the neck is a gold hryvnia with tips in the form of tiger heads. On the left side of the skull a gold earring decorated with turquoise grain and pendants was discovered.

The form of clothing and the method of burial suggest that the “Golden Man” was a descendant of a prominent Saka leader or a member of the royal family. Some Kazakh historians suggest that the burial belongs to Usun.

Most likely he was buried in ceremonial or ceremonial attire: in a thin silk shirt, short jacket, narrow trousers of red suede and high boots without heels. On the head of the leader was a high conical cap - kulah. A three-turn tubular hryvnia with tips in the shape of a tiger's head was found on the neck. A heavy inlaid belt of figured cast metal plates was worn over the camisole. To the right of the deceased on a sword belt in a wooden sheath there was a sword for equestrian combat; on the left, in the sheath with overlays in the form of an elk and a horse — an iron dagger. His pommel looks like two griffon heads; it is covered with gold leaf. The blade is encrusted with gold plates with images of various animals. A symbolic baton with a gold tip and decorated with a gold lash was laid at the left shoulder. Peculiarities of armament allow dating the Issyk V-IV or IV-III centuries BC

History of discovery

In 1963, Issyk Lake broke through a powerful mudflow. As a result, the state of emergency literally washed away many houses and industrial buildings of the village, including the local car park. In 1968, Issyk received city status, which resulted in the need to develop the infrastructure of the district center. Among other tasks was the construction of a new car base at the entrance to the city. According to the Law of the Kazakh SSR "On the Protection of Monuments of History, Archeology and Culture", after the allocation of land for the construction of something, it is necessary to coordinate with the authorized body to determine the historical monuments on this territory. To do this, the archaeologist Becken Nurmukhanbetov went to the site with a laboratory technician and photographer (Oleg Medvedev). The mound mentioned above was located on the territory of the future car base / The study began - during the whole of 1969 a mound was demolished, and in the spring of 1970 the central burial was opened, which turned out to be robbed several times. When the works were already being rolled up, B. Nurmukhanbetov, trusting in his instincts, asked the bulldozers to “walk” once more ten meters north of the central burial. after several visits, the knife of the bulldozer stumbled upon a wooden blockhouse that was not disturbed by robbers. After stripping the entire log house, the young archaeologist then decided to call his colleagues. After this, the teacher Nurmukhanbetova Kemal Akishev took the excavation into his own hands. Currently, Beken-aga has opened an open-air museum on the site of the Issyk kurgans, where he is the chief custodian and Shyraksha of the Sak kurgans.

Symbol of Kazakhstan

The treasures of the Issyk mound, including an exact replica, were exhibited in the Kazakh Museum of Archeology, located in Almaty, and now at the State Museum of Gold and Precious Metals of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Astana.

The “Altyn Adam” on the winged leopard became one of the national symbols of Kazakhstan. Copies of the Saka warrior are installed in many cities of Kazakhstan, one of which is crowned by the Independence Monument on the main square of Almaty.

In total in Kazakhstan, as a result of archeological excavations, five graves with the so-called “golden man” were found: the second “golden man” was found in Araltobe Kurgan, the third in Shilikta baron Baygetöba, the fourth near Astana and the fifth “golden man” found in Taldy's burial ground Karkaraly district. [[Category:Asian armour]] [[Category:Archaeological sites in Kazakhstan]]