Archaeologists in Almaty have discovered a unique gold ornament in the form of a small cast figurine of a bear. The find was made during the excavation of a Saka burial mound at the Karagaily burial ground in Nauryzbay district, according to the city akimat.
The mound, which is 25–26 metres in diameter and about 2.5 metres high, has been provisionally dated to the 4th–3rd centuries BC. It was looted in ancient times, after which the remaining artefacts were left scattered haphazardly.
In addition to the gold ornament, archaeologists found fragments of Saka pottery and human remains. According to preliminary data, four adults and three children may have been buried in the mound. The exact number of those buried has not yet been established. To determine it, scientists plan to carry out further research involving anthropologists.
It is thought that the gold bear figurine may have been part of a headdress. This is indicated by holes in the plate, probably intended for sewing the ornament on.
According to Lyazzat Sagyndykova, director of the Almaty Museums Association, no such finds have previously been discovered in Kazakhstan.
“This find allows us to trace cultural parallels across the whole of Eurasia, from the Black Sea region to the Altai,” she said.
The large number of people buried also proved unusual. Marat Nurpeisov, a senior researcher at the Almaty Museums Association, noted that mounds of comparable size were usually intended for the burial of one or two people.
Once the research and scientific processing have been completed, the most valuable finds are to be included in the exhibition of the Almaty museum.
