Late medieval burial in Diring (Churapcha district, Yakutia)

In October 2020, workers accidentally found a human burial while digging a trench for cable near voltage transforming substation in the village of Diring (Khoptogo) in Churapcha District of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). Examination of the place of discovery revealed that the trench affected the upper part of the ancient burial made on a six meter terrace at the northern outskirts of the lake-alas basin in the western part of the village of Diring near the southwestern corner of the residential area located at Kolkhoznaya street 1. Excavation has shown that a buried male of about 25-30 years of age was placed in extended position on his back with his head towards the north, into a grave pit of subrectangular shape measuringca. 175 X 62 cm and 67-71 cm deep. The hands of the buried man rested on his lower abdomen. The buried was placed on a flooring of thin boards and was covered with the same flooring of boards which was wrapped around with stitched birch bark sheets on both sides. A completely decayed whittled pole, laid diagonally, was found between the upper layer of birch bark and boards. Two iron arrowheads of the srezen ’ type and massive batas - a variety of a cutting and piercing tool - were discovered in the filling of the grave pit at the feet of the buried person. The remains of decayed leather straps, flint for making fire, flint flake, miniature triangular pyramid (tetrahedron) made of river pebble, bent knife case (sheath) made of birch bark, and long wooden object shaped like an oar were under the skeleton. Radiocarbon analysis of charcoal and human bone samples from the Diring burial was made using the AMS method. The charcoal date indicated a calibrated (for ±2σ) interval of 1284-1435 AD; bone dates showed the interval of 1053-1389 AD, which, taken together, indicate the early stage of the Kulun-Atakh culture. The nature of the funeral rite and accompanying inventory also reveals that the Diring burial belonged to the Kulun-Atakh Late Medieval culture, the sites of which have already been known in Churapcha District.