In 2022, FSB officers in the Tula region detained a “black digger” who, during illegal excavations in the territory of Greater Tula, found a unique treasure trove containing women’s jewelry from the era of the Middle Sarmatian culture of the 1st-2nd centuries AD. The treasure was transferred to the funds of the Kulikovo Pole State Museum-Reserve and is being prepared for exhibition, and archaeologists have begun studying the ancient settlement. In Krasnoyarsk, SFU scientists found more than 50 unique artifacts during excavations of a burial mound of the Tesinskaya culture (2nd century BC – 1st century AD) on the territory of the modern Shinnoye Cemetery.
As experts said, archaeological excavations in the Tula region play an important role in recreating the full picture of the country’s history. Archaeologists are becoming true pioneers who are opening up long-forgotten pages of the past, RIA Novosti reports.
“This is a list of all the events that took place on the territory of the Oka-Don watershed over a very long period of time. This is a period of discovery, writing the foundations that will then be detailed for a long time,” emphasized Vladimir Gritsenko, director of the Kulikovo Pole State Museum-Reserve.
Finds from the Barybinka settlement, dating back to the era of medieval Tula. RIA Novosti / Maria Devakhina
He noted that most monuments have a multi-layered character, since people always choose the same places to live. That is why the ancient settlement discovered near the village of Barybinka was inhabited in different eras – very briefly in the first centuries of our era and in the Middle Ages (14th-15th centuries).
During the press conference, the participants discussed a unique complex – a hoard of women’s jewelry from the 1st-2nd centuries AD, which contains about one and a half thousand items. It was found by a “black digger” on the territory of Greater Tula in 2022. According to experts, the find has no analogues and indicates the emergence of an original style in the Tula region.
Encolpion cross. RIA Novosti / Maria Devakhina
“The Barybin treasure is currently undergoing restoration in our workshops. It consists of many different items, each of which we are paying special attention to. I have not restored such items yet,” said Vitaly Shmelev, a top-category restorer at the Kulikovo Pole State Museum-Reserve.
In addition, the analysis of the jewelry allowed us to learn more about the trade relations of ancient settlers with neighboring states, said Kristina Stolyarova, deputy director of the Kulikovo Pole State Museum-Reserve.
“The items in this hoard are completely diverse. They tell us a story about the trade links of this region, because some of the items are imports. For example, a fibula (a metal clasp) is an import from the Roman Empire. Most likely, it belonged to a man, a military contingent,” Stolyarova said.
Belt tip from the 1st-2nd centuries with a tamga. RIA Novosti / Maria Devakhina
She noted that gold and glass beads are also of particular interest, since glass production in the ancient world was carried out only in Syria.
The head of the Tula archaeological expedition, Evgeny Stolyarov, spoke about who owned the jewelry. According to him, the rich set of jewelry allows us to talk about the high status of its owner in society, but it is too early to talk about her belonging to a specific nation.
“Unfortunately, we cannot answer the question of what kind of population this was, because we have no written evidence of who lived in the territory of the Oka-Don watershed,” Stolyarov explained.
A later find – coins from Medieval Rus’ – was reported by Alexey Vorontsov, scientific secretary of the Kulikovo Pole State Museum-Reserve. Among them is one of the first Russian imitations, made after the Battle of Kulikovo.
Russian coin – imitation of Golden Horde coins. RIA Novosti / Maria Devakhina
“Russian carvers made dies similar to the coins of the Golden Horde. They are not counterfeit, they are silver and correspond to the coinage norm of that time, but the carvers preferred to remain anonymous. Numismatists are now only discovering this most interesting part of the history of Russian coinage,” Vorontsov emphasized.
As the participants of the video conference reported, the artifacts will be on display starting December 20 at an exhibition in the Archaeology Space in the Museum Quarter of Tula.
SFU scientists have found more than 50 unique artifacts during excavations of a burial mound of the Tesinskaya culture (2nd century BC – 1st century AD) on the territory of the modern Shinnoye cemetery in Krasnoyarsk. According to archaeologists, the well-preserved items from the burial site have helped to clarify the mysteries of burial rites. Despite the large number of discovered burial mounds of these ancient inhabitants of Siberia (150), scientists had insufficient knowledge of the life and customs of the Tesinskaya people, according to the Siberian Federal University (SFU). In many burials, the material culture items were poorly preserved, and some of the tombs were carelessly excavated in the first half of the 20th century, which damaged the artifacts.
Ceramic vessel with segmental handles. SFU Press Service/Evgeny Puzin
The burial mound discovered on the territory of the modern Shinnoye Cemetery in Krasnoyarsk was an exception. Thanks to its preservation, researchers were able to reconstruct an unusual burial rite of the Tesinskaya culture. It combined burial in the ground and burning of the bodies of the deceased, SFU scientists noted.
Dagger and knives made of bronze. SFU press service/Evgeny Puzin
To bury the tesina, they dug a hole measuring 8 x 5 meters and about 2 meters deep. A log frame was built at the bottom, then a wooden floor.
The deceased were placed in the crypt belonging to one family with “gifts” that could be useful in the afterlife.
Ceramic vessel with “horn-shaped” protrusions. SFU Press Service/Evgeny Puzin
“When the crypt was completely filled, it was set on fire. The bodies were packed very tightly, obviously, they were saving space. We have calcined red soil with fragments of human bones that were spared by the fire, but the lowest layers were practically not damaged by the flames,” said Pavel Mandryka, head of the Yenisei Siberia Archaeology Laboratory at SFU.
Bronze belt plate (belt tip). SFU Press Service/Evgeny Puzin
The accompanying inventory included small daggers, battle axes, miniature knives and mirrors, the researcher continued. The objects can be called miniature, they were different from the usual ones, they were made more meticulously and skillfully. Consequently, the arsenal for the journey to the other world had a more symbolic than practical character. This may indicate developed ideas about the afterlife in the Tesinskaya culture, the researcher believes.
Bronze plaque with the image of a deer (the so-called deer plaque). SFU Press Service/Evgeny Puzin
Also, along with the buried, tools, vessels for cooking, finely crafted buckles and stripes that wealthy cattle breeders wore on their clothes were found, the university added.
SFU archaeologist Dmitry Vinogradov in front of a collection of items from the Shinnoye Cemetery burial mound. SFU Press Service/Evgeny Puzin
Scientists call two finds in the burial mound exclusive – bronze figures of a griffin and a lying deer. The find, judging by the specially forged loop on the back side, is an elegant plaque for outerwear. The griffin figurine served as the tip of a leather belt that a nobleman used to gird himself, SFU specialists suggested.
“The beauty of this burial mound is the large preserved collection of ceramics – more than 50 vessels and their parts. The collection of bronze objects is original. Also, quite rare organic items have reached us – for example, a well-preserved wooden box. And the remains from the crypt, I believe, will be studied by geneticists,” Mandryka added.
The found skull. SFU press service/Evgeny Puzin
He noted that such an extensive complex of finds had not been found in the Krasnoyarsk region for about 65 years and it was premature to talk about the completion of the study of the mound.
The specialist calls the orientation of the walls one of its mysteries; most similar structures have them aligned with the cardinal directions. And the principle of the location of the mound from the Shinnoye Cemetery has yet to be determined, the press service added.