Elite burial mound No. 51 at the Ust-Tartas burial ground: general information

This article briefly describes the study of burial mound No. 51 of the Sargat culture at the Ust-Tartas burial ground. That site is located at floodplain terrace in Urochishche Tai (Vengerovo District, Novosibirsk Region). The mound measuring 20 х 30 m by the beginning of excavation, was an oval-shaped earthen structure rising 1.5 m high above the present-day surface. The excavation area was 916 m2. Twenty two burials were discovered in the sacred area surrounded by a ditch. Internal periodization of these burials was established using planigraphy and stratigraphy of the graves. The main burial of an adult male was robbed. Six more graves were made around the perimeter simultaneously with central burial before construction of the mound. A common feature of burials is their small depth (up to 0.4 m). Despite the robbery, birch bark used as a cover was found in almost every chamber. Next four structures were built into the rows of the structures mentioned above, and the last structure from those made in sterile soil, cut through the previous structures. All burials of this set were accompanied by burial inventory. Female burials had three vessels; male burials had two vessels. Both male and female burials contained a single-edged iron knife. Male burials had iron and bone arrowheads; female burials had clay spindle whorls. Women from several burials were dressed in embroidered headwear. Nine secondary burials were found in the mound. A common feature of all burials is that almost each one was accompanied by goods typical of the Sargat culture, which makes it possible to attribute all burials to a single culture, and the entire complex of burial mound No. 51 to the category of elite burial structures of the Sargat society.