A new eilatan-type burial site in the east of the Fergana valley (7th-3rd centuries bce)
- № 36 2023
Страницы:
7
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18
Язык: английский
Аннотация
The work presents some results of archaeological excavations at the Eilatan-type Khanabad-1 burial site in the Andijan region. Despite the presence of the main criteria for the burial rites of the Eilatan culture (earth pit, filling of the pit with alternate layers of soil and pebbles, covering the surface of the burial ground with stones, presence of low stone mounds over some graves and so on), there were some features recorded for the first time in this culture, such as the “horseman” position of a dead body, grave goods consisting of
richly ornamented handmade painted ceramics. At the same time, some specific farming items were found amid the stone fillings of the burial ground, such as fragments of stone sickles, which were recorded for the first time. Nevertheless, despite the presence of stone sickles and certain elements of the Shurabashat culture in the ornamentation of the grave goods, the grave structures and even more the burial rite correspond to certain types of the Aktam, Kungai and Sufan burial grounds of western and south-western Fergana Valley.
The grave with a crouched corpse in the east of the valley and the burial chamber without a dead person,which, nevertheless, showed compliance with all burial rituals required for that period of history, are of special interest. The results of the field studies helped establish that the Khanabad-1 burial ground, in terms of its scale, richly ornamented ceramics, items made of minerals and various metals, may be one of the major burial
centres from this culture.