Studies at the Uytag-15 burial ground in the Republic of Khakassia in 2022

During the rescue archaeological excavations of the burial ground Uytag-15 in the Askiz District of the Republic of Khakassia, a multicultural burial complex dated to the Bronze and the Early Iron Ages was studied. A total of 35 objects were uncovered within one excavation. The early stage of using the burial ground is associated with the feature of the Okunevo culture (late 3rd - early 2nd millennium BC) in the northern part of the excavation (objects 18-23, 3133). Later, adjacent enclosures of the burial ground of the Karasuk culture (13th-11th centuries BC, objects 7 and 27) were built southwards. Over time, at the final stage of the Late Bronze Age (Lugavian horizon, 9th-8th centuries BC), a large burial ground containing single and double fences with burials in cists (objects 6, 9, 12-14, 24, 26, 28, 29, 35) was formed surrounding the Karasuk enclosures. The next stage of the using the burial ground is associated with the construction of a mound of the Tagar culture in its central part (objects 8, 11, 25, 30, 34). The southeastern part of the complex contains the ground burial of the Tesin culture (objects 1-4, 15-17). In the course of the excavations, it was found that the area was used as a habitation site by bearers of the Tashtyk archaeological culture (2nd century BC - 5th century AD) well after the funeral complex. The site demonstrates a complex cultural stratigraphy and the traces of influence of the bearers of archaeological cultures on the burial complexes of previous eras. In terms of its complexity and the existence period, Uytag-15 is close to the burial grounds near Mount Tepsei.