Explorations of Arzhan-5 in the Turan-Uyuk depression

The paper publishes preliminary materials on the ongoing exploration ofArzhan-5, which is a burial and memorial complex located 2.5 km of the village Arzhanwhere a famous kurgan known as Arzhan-1, excavated in the 1970s, is located. The sitelooks like a collapsed stone embankment with a looter’s trench in the centre. In the2014-2015 field seasons the Institute of Archaeology expedition led by the authors cleanedthe collapsed embankment in the southern section of the kurgan and the central burialand examined its design. The expedition revealed sections of the embankment revetmentmade from vertical stone slabs and horizontal stonework made from rough stone, remainsof wooden constructions made from larch in the embankment. The original diameter ofthe kurgan embankment reached 48 meters. The excavations of the burial discovered thecentre uncovered a stone construction, with its corners oriented according to the cardinaldirections. During the exploratory work at the site fragments of the bones of a humanand horses were found. The grave offerings include parts of the horse bridle, including abronze bridle element for strap-crossing depicting a coiled panther, which is stylisticallysimilar to a find from the Arzhan kurgan. The radiocarbon dates obtained are the 9th -8th centuries BC.