Ancient Siberian Grave Reveals Mysterious Warrior Family, Raising Questions About Their Untold Story
From bronze daggers, knives, and several axes to bronze mirrors and a comb made from an animal horn — the excavation has proven invaluable.
As is often the case with discoveries such as this, the dig site in southern Khakassia, Siberia was found out of sheer luck. Preparatory construction work on a new railroad exposed the grave which now promises to shed new light on a civilization long gone.
The NationThe older woman was buried at the couple’s feet, with chunks of the infant’s skull scattered across the grave.
The Tagar culture is very much historical, and not to be confused with the Targaryens from Game of Thrones. Part of the Scythian civilization — which was comprised of nomadic warriors inhabiting the southern region of modern-day Siberia — the Tagars often buried their dead with personal items.
However, burials were typically done using miniature versions of real-life objects. The Tagar culture was confident things could be taken to the afterlife, and thus commonly buried its dead with smaller versions of real possessions they thought they would need. The items found in this grave set it apart.
The Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography team found that both the weapons and personal items were full-sized. For Yuri Vitalievich Teterin who spearheaded the excavation, the fact that they found anything at all has been the most shocking.
Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of SciencesThough weapons within a Tagarian woman’s grave are common, they’re typically long-range weapons — unlike the daggers and axes found here.
It’s generally believed by experts like Teterin that grave robbers have looted most known Tagarian graves. The Tagar culture lasted from around 800 B.C. to 300 B.C., with populations spread across the Minusinsk Basin — a landscape combining steppe, forest-steppe, and foothills.
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