Construction Of Tomb Research Articles

New evidence for a bronze age date of chariot depictions in the eurasian steppes

Two-wheeled horse-drawn chariot depictions in the Eurasian steppe have long been stylistically dated to the Bronze Age. Here we present an example of a petroglyph embedded in the architecture of an early Scythian royal tomb in the Tuva Republic, Siberia. The construction of the tomb is dated through wiggle-matching to between 833 and 800 BCE (95.4%) thus providing a rare terminus ante quem for chariot depictions in southern Siberia.The new evidence supports the current chronological range for this type of petroglyph in the Eurasian steppe belt.

Vegetation and climate reconstruction based on pollen and microbial records derived from burial mounds soil in Tuva Republic, Central Asia

Beloe Ozero-3 Scythian tomb containing four burial mounds dated by the Liquid Scintillation Counting 14 C dating on the construction woods between 2560 ± 115 to 2430 ± 65 a BP is a very important archaeological site in the Turan-Uyuk Basin of the Tuva Republic, Russia. However, with large uncertainties of the dates, the sequence of the mound constructions and their paleoenvironmental conditions are unclear. Here we present the results of pollen assemblages from the soils buried under the mounds and surrounding areas to compare with well AMS 14 C dated pollen diagram of Lugovoe Mire in the same region. The comparisons allow us to conclude that: (1) The four mounds were constructed in different environmental conditions at different time. (2) Mound 2 was constructed the first, Mound 3 was the second, Mound 1 was the third and Mound 4 was the last. (3) Before the construction of tomb Beloe Ozero-3, the climatic conditions were relatively humid that promoted agriculture practice. (4) During construction of the first mound (Mound No2) the climatic conditions were close to modern. Pine ( Pinus sylvestris ) and Siberian cedar ( Pinus sibirica ) forests might have grown on the mountains surrounding the Turan-Uyuk basin from the north. 5) The climate during the construction of second mound (Mound 3) became more arid and agricultural field was abandoned. (6) During construction of the third by order mound (Mound 1) the climate was more arid than modern. Increase of anthropogenic pressure on landscape could be observed in pollen data of the last constructed mounds (Mound 1 and Mound 4). It is possible that drying climate caused gradual decline of Scythian culture. Comparisons with pollen spectra from the burial mound Arzhan-2, Beloe Lake-2, Tere-Khol Lake and Lugovoe Mire, it seems that the construction of Beloe Ozero-3 tomb took place during the period of semiarid climate close to modern but with more strong arid condition. This assumption is also confirmed by microbiological data from the buried soils. With the newly AMS 14 C dated pollen diagram of Lugovoe Mire, we will build up more precise pollen chronology in the study area.

Dating of the Tashtyk Cultural Remains from the Oglakhty Burial Ground (Southern Siberia)

The present research is focused on the dating of the Oglakhty burial ground, the key site of stage I of the Tashtyk culture. Despite the numerous well-preserved burials of that type investigated at the Oglakhty complexes, their chronological position has remained unclear. From the early 20th century until the present, 2 different time periods had been identified for the Tashtyk burials: (1) from the 1st century BC until the 1st century AD and (2) from the 1st until the 2nd century AD. New data obtained in the 1990s suggested a different age for Tashtyk burials, namely the 3rd–4th centuries AD. This considerable shift in chronology needed to be checked with independent data. The chronological position of one of the Oglakhty burials, tomb 4, has been investigated with the use of wiggle-matching, applied to wooden logs used in the construction of tomb 4. The resulting dates for this burial strongly suggest its age as being limited to the 3rd–4th centuries AD, which is corroborated by the archaeological dates of the imported artifacts found in the grave and which is in agreement with the chronological position of the Oglakhty site, as proposed by previous investigations.

The ramsesnakht dynasty and the fall of the New Kingdom: a new monument in Thebes

From 1993-96, the joint archaeological project of the German Institute of Archaeology, Cairo (DAI) and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) partially excavated a large tomb in the hillside of Dra' Abu el-Naga on the Theban West Bank. The architecture, archaeological record, and objects found thus far indicate that the tomb had at least two major construction and use phases. The original construction of the tomb probably dates back to the late 17th or early 18th dynasties. The second phase includes an extensive remodeling of the complex and can be attributed to a high official of the late 20th dynasty, the Hihg Priest of Amun, Ramsesnakht. The present article is a first attempt to interpret the results of the 1993-96 field seasons when the inside of the tomb and half of both its forecourts were excavated. The emphasis will be on the Ramesside constructions and re-use of the tomb and the possible historical implications.