Treasures of the royal burial mounds

Ust-Kamenogorsk, December 18, 2009 (Khabar) - A new exhibition of finds from the ancient burial mounds is opened In Ust-Kamenogorsk Regional Museum. More than 30 unique burials were discovered in Eastern Kazakhstan since 1990-s. Due to the permafrost rare wooden products, leather and bone survived till our days. Berelskiy mounds can be called the Kazakhstani Troy. Only the rulers were buried here. And even despite the fact that the tombs were looted, there are still a lot of artifacts in the traditional Nomads' animal style. Moose, mountain goats, snow leopards, fish entangled in some sort of unthinkable complex dance. Each story is not just the image, but also the encrypted message. Top of creativity is fantastic creatures, they symbolized royal power. Common mortals were forbidden to touch them.

Tolegen Dyusupov, director of the East Kazakhstan Regional History Museum:
- This creature is tigrogrifon. It is made of cedar. This is a very strong material. It perfectly preserved as it passed restoration.

Burial ceremonies for people who lived here were quite complex. They used the ceremonial wigs, wooden pillows for the deceased. Like the ancient Egyptians they used embalming. Special powders made of wild hops and cedar oil were kept in this vessel. The Scythian leader ascended to heaven in a chariot drawn by horses.
Arimaspi that guard griffins, is one of the most mysterious ancient peoples, which were described by Herodotus. Later, they received the name "Saki". The body of the chief was placed in a deck of larch and covered with bark. The unique things from perishable materials leather, wood, bone preserved because of cold until nowadays.
There are only 40 items at the exhibition so far. In hands of the ancient master any material come to life and turned into a work of art. And even after 2,5 thousand years all the products seem surprisingly modern and not lost pristine beauty.