Archaeological excavations at the “Skalnaya” burial grounds in 2021 (the Republic of Khakassia)

In 2021, an excavation team from the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography SB RAS carried out rescue archaeological works at the “Skalnaya” burial complex (Askiz district of the Republic of Khakassia) as a part of the Preservation project of the archaeological heritage objects during the construction of the second railway line at the Kamyshta - Uytag section of the Krasnoyarsk railway. According to the project requirements, 3 burial mounds were examined; 4296 sq. m. were excavated to terrestrial deposits; 7 burials (grave pits) yielded more than 100 individual finds (items made of bronze, iron, clay, gypsum and organic materials). All collective human burials in earthen grave pits with wooden log cabins were constructed inside stone fences under overhead stone and wooden coverings. Objects from the crypts and the diagnostic features of the funeral rite allow these burials to be dated to the Podgornovskiy (Skalnaya 7) Saragashenskiy (Skalnaya 6) and “Tesinskiy” stages (Skalnaya 5). Single kurgan Skalnaya 5 is an elite complex. This is evidenced by a massive aboveground and intra-grave structures, clay-plaster death masks, and preserved grave goods. Despite the serious robbery, the burial is very valuable because of all the details of two-levelled burial bed (boards, posts, support beams and traces of their attachment) preserved in the crypt. Burnt wood from the burial structures of the mound was analyzed in 2021. Comparison with the other materials obtained enabled us to establish clear chronological frame for mentioned in this article sites. Fence slabs of the Tagar kurgans with various embossed decorations (humanoidfigures, animals, hunting scenes, etc.) are very important objects of study.