Incredible haul of gold from 2,800 years ago unearthed

in Kazakhstan
metro.co.uk/2018/07/30/incredible-haul-gold-2800-years-ago-unearthed-kazakhstan-7777369

July 30, 2018

Joe RobertsMonday 30 Jul 2018 3:00 pm

An incredible haul of 2,800-year-old gold jewellery has been unearthed by archaeologists in
Kazakhstan.

Some 3,000 golden and precious items were found in a burial mound in the remote
Tarbagatai mountains.

The ‘priceless’ treasure trove is believed to belong to royal or noble members of the Saka
people who held sway in central Asia eight centuries before the birth of Christ.

The treasure trove is described as ‘priceless’ by the archaeologists who found it (Picture:
Oleg Belyalov-east2west news)

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The intricate jewellery proved there was sophisticated craftsmanship 2,800 years ago
(Picture: East-Kazakhstan region/east2west news)
Among the stash are earrings in the shape of bells, gold plates with rivets, plaques, chains,
and a necklace with precious stones.

Gold beads decorating clothes were made using sophisticated techniques, indicating an
exceptional level of jewellery-making skills for the period.

Archaeologists expect to find the remains of the prestigious couple who owned the glittering
treasures, but they haven’t opened their graves yet.

Professor Zainolla Samashev, in charge of the excavations, said: ‘A large number of

valuable finds in this burial mound let us believe a man and a woman are buried here – the
reigning persons or people who belonged to the elite of Saka society.’

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Some 3,000 golden and precious items were found in a burial mound (Picture: East-
Kazakhstan region/east2west news)

Archaeologists believe they will find more treasure in the area (Picture: East-Kazakhstan
region/east2west news)
Head of the East-Kazakhstan region Danial Akhmetov said: ‘This find gives us a completely
different view of the history of our people.’

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The ancient people clearly had exceptional skills in mining, or extraction, selling and
jewellery making, he said.

‘We are the heirs of the great people and great technologies,’ he said.

There are some 200 burial mounds on the Eleke Sazy plateau, where these treasures were
found, but many were robbed in ancient times.

The trove included earrings in the shape of bells, gold plates with rivets, plaques, chains,
and a necklace with precious stones (Picture: East-Kazakhstan region/east2west news)

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The treasure trove is believed to belong to royal members of the Saka people (Picture:
East-Kazakhstan region/east2west news)
The plateau is surrounded by rich pastures and was seen as a ‘paradise’ by the Saka
kings.

Despite some of the treasure being removed in the time of Russian emperor Peter the
Great, experts believe they will find more golden remains.

‘There are a lot of burial mounds here and the prospects are very large,’ said leading
Kazakh archaeologist Yerben Oralbai.

The Saka people were a branch of the Scythians – a sophisticated nomadic civilisation in
central Asia stretching into Siberia.

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