International archaeologists have found the tomb of a Scythian king and his wife crammed with exquisite gold burial paraphernalia totaling more than 20 kilograms.
The royal tomb named Arzhan 2 was first discovered by scientists in 2001 in the Valley of the Kings of the Republic of Tuva, the most mysterious land of Russia. Tomb of Arzhan 2 is 2,600 years old.
According to The Siberian Times, this 80-meter-wide mound is the burial place of a warrior king who ruled over a vast territory with many hills. The vast wealth he owned shows his close relationship with other civilizations.
The king was buried in an ancient cemetery with 14 horses, a symbol of Scythian wealth, each of which belonged to a different herd.
Lying beside the king are the remains of a mysterious woman believed to be the king’s favorite queen or concubine, along with an entourage of at least 33 people, including 15 men, 12 women, 5 children and a skeleton of unknown sex.
Điều hấp dẫn nhất khi khai quật khu mộ cách mặt đất 2 – 3 mét của cặp đôi hoàng gia này là kho báu chất đầy vàng. Các nhà khảo cổ tìm thấy tổng cộng 9.300 vật trang trí bằng vàng, chưa kể vô số hạt vàng nhỏ. Khối lượng của các đồ tạo tác tương đương hơn 20 kg vàng, bao gồm bông tai, mặt dây chuyền và hạt trang sức gắn trên thân thể của cặp đôi.
In addition, the research team also discovered many artworks such as animal statues, necklaces, and pins engraved with exquisite animal figures on the gold surface.
According to Dr. Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director of the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia, the find is like an “encyclopedia of Scythian animal art with all the animals living in the area such as leopards, lions, and lions.” , camels, deer”.
Through analysis of Strontium isotopes in the bones, all those buried were locals, with the exception of the woman believed to be the queen or concubine, Professor Konstantin Chugunov at the Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, said.
According to the analysis results, the king died between the ages of 40 and 50 from prostate cancer, the first case of this disease in human history, Michael Schultz, palaeontologist at the University of Göttingen, Germany, said. Meanwhile, the woman buried with him is only about 30 years old. The woman’s cause of death is unknown, although there are theories that she was poisoned, strangled, or killed herself according to her husband.
Archaeologists also found that the layout of this tomb coincides with the description of the Greek historian Herodotus (484 – 425 BC) about the burial rites of the Scythian kings. According to Herodotus, the living must follow the dead. Men, women, and children in the grave were more likely to be slaughtered to serve their masters in the afterlife.
Herodotus mô tả cơ thể của nhà vua được đặt trong phần mộ trên một tấm nệm. Giáo được cắm chặt xuống nền đất ở hai bên hài cốt và dầm phía trên tạo thành mái che. Cạnh thi thể của nhà vua là xác một trong những thê thiếp bị hạ sát bằng độc dược trước đó. Ngoài ra, trong mộ còn có xác của đầu bếp, người đưa tin, đầy tớ, người đánh xe, những con ngựa của vua chôn cùng một số cốc chén bằng vàng.