Chartykovsky-2 burial mound of the Early Iron Age in the Sagai steppe

The Chartykovsky-2 burial mound in the area of railroad construction in Askiz District of the Republic of Khakassia was studied in 2023. The usual elements (fence, partition and corner stones, entrance, grave cover) were arranged in a non-standard structure of three fences of decreasing size placed one inside another. Such structure of burial mound may be associated with changes at the burial complex of the Early Tagar culture in the Tesperiod. The outer fence was rectangular, 12 х 9 m in size, extending along south-southeast north-northwest. Relatively narrow slabs of the fence (0.2-0.4 m) were dug to the depth of0.1-0.2 m. The southwestern, southeastern, and northeastern corner stones, southern partition stone, and entrance corridor in the center of the eastern wall have survived. The second, middle, fence was made of larger slabs dug to a larger depth. The third fence, interrupted by the grave pit, has survived fragmentarily. A grave was discovered in the central part of the burial mound. Its walls and roof were lined with stone slabs. The cover was made of larger slabs. There was an additional circular placement of medium-sized boulders with masks. The grave contained redeposited human and animal bones, pottery fragments, and beads. Anthropomorphic figures and tamga-like symbols were pecked on sandstone slabs in the grave and grave cover, as well as the corner and partition stones. Rebuilding of burial mounds both by their creators and later population is often mentioned in excavation records of the Paleometal-Xiongnu-Xianbi sites in the Khakass-Minusinsk Basin. As a rule, the changes were associated with expansion of a burial mound or reusing the site for new burials. In the case of Chartykovsky-2, it is possible to speak about intentional rebuilding, yet no obvious secondary burials were found. The abundance and diversity of petroglyph locations may testify to a special cultic status of the burial mound in the Sagai steppe at the southeastern foot of Mount Lyuskhol.