FAQ
logo of Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences

The magnetic survey of the early Scythian burial site and settlements in the Turan-Uyuk valley in Tuva

Publication date: 2020

Acta Archaeologica Carpathica, 2020, Vol LV, pp. 343 - 368

https://doi.org/10.4467/00015229AAC.20.013.13518

Authors

,
Łukasz Oleszczak
Institute of Archeology, Jagiellonian University, Gołębia 11, 31-007 Kraków, Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9197-0605 Orcid
All publications →
,
Marcin M. Przybyła
DOLMEN Company, Marcin Przybyła & Michał Podsiadło, Kraków, Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4695-0752 Orcid
All publications →
,
Igor Pieńkos
Institute of Archeology, Jagiellonian University, Gołębia 11, 31-007 Kraków, Poland
All publications →
,
Konstantin V. Chugunov
The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, Russia
All publications →
Nina A. Zhogova
The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, Russia
All publications →

Titles

The magnetic survey of the early Scythian burial site and settlements in the Turan-Uyuk valley in Tuva

Abstract

In 2019, Polish archaeologists took part in an expedition of the Hermitage Museum, led by K.V. Chugunov, in Chinge-Tey cemetery, Tuva (Russian Federation). This paper presents the results of magnetic surveys carried out within the so-called western chain of barrows and around the princely barrow of Chinge-Tey I. This method of non-invasive research is very well suited to the landscape and has produced a significant body of information. Among others, the survey of the western chain identified a stone mantle in barrow 8, which makes it different from other barrows from this group, whose mounds were built of earth. Another important result is the identification of a stone circle surrounding a cult feature (certainly associated with eschatological rituals) known as the northern complex. The presence of the circle came as a surprise for the investigators of the site, as it does not manifest itself at all on the surface of the site. On the other hand, worth noting is one negative result, which nevertheless allows for some conclusions, namely the lack of detectable anomalies connected with one of the tombs in the vicinity of Chinge-Tey I (barrow 15). Despite being clearly discernible in the landscape, and even more evident in LIDAR images, the barrow is invisible on images produced with a magnetometer. This means that one cannot rule out a possibility that other structures undetectable by magnetic surveys may be present within the investigated part of the cemetery. Nevertheless, one cannot but arrive at the conclusion that the results generated by the magnetic research provide significant information concerning the spatial arrangement of the cemetery and are helpful in planning of archaeological excavation.

References

Download references

Belikova O.B. 2014 Poslednââ êkspediciâ A.W. Adrianova: Tuva, 1915-1916 gg., Arheologičeskie issledovaniâ, Izdatel’stvo Tomskogo Universiteta, Tomsk.

David A., Linford N., Linford P. 2008 Geophysical Survey in Archaeological Field Evaluation, Swindon.

Dunlop D. 1995 Magnetism in rocks, Journal of Geophysical Research 100 / B2, p. 2161-2174.

Fassbinder J. 2015 Seeing beneath the farmland, steppe and desert soil: magnetic prospecting and soil magnetism, Journal of Archaeological Science 56, p. 85-95.

Fassbinder J., Becker H. 2010 Die Magnetometerprospektion (in:) Der skythenzeitliche Furstenkurgan Aržan 2 in Tuva, K. Čugunov, H. Parzinger, A. Nagler (ed.), Archäologie in Eurasien, vol. 26, Mainz, p. 19-21.

Larson E., Ozima M., Ozima M., Nagata T., Strangway D. 1969 Stability of Remanent Magnetization of Igneous Rocks, Geophysical Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society 17, p. 263-292.

Misiewicz K. 2006 Geofizyka archeologiczna. Warszawa.

Sarris A., Papadopulos N. 2013 Looking for Graves: Geophysical Prospection of Cemeteries (in:) Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Cultural Heritage and New Technologies 2012, W. Börner, S. Uhlirz. (ed.), Vienna, p. 1-13.

Savinov D.G. 2002 Rannie kočevniki Verhnego Eniseâ, Arheologičeskie kul’tury i kul’turogenez SpbGU, Sankt Petersburg.

Schmidt A. 2007 Archaeology, magnetic methods, (in:) Encyclopedia of Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism, D. Gubbins, E. Herrero-Bervera (ed.), Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series, Heidelberg-New York, p. 23-31.

Strangway D., Larson E., Goldstein M. 1968 A Possible Cause of High Magnetic Stability in Volcanic Rocks, Journal of Geophysical Research 73 / 12, p. 3787-3795.

Information

Information: Acta Archaeologica Carpathica, 2020, Vol LV, pp. 343 - 368

Article type: Original article

Authors

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9197-0605

Łukasz Oleszczak
Institute of Archeology, Jagiellonian University, Gołębia 11, 31-007 Kraków, Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9197-0605 Orcid
All publications →

Institute of Archeology, Jagiellonian University, Gołębia 11, 31-007 Kraków, Poland

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4695-0752

Marcin M. Przybyła
DOLMEN Company, Marcin Przybyła & Michał Podsiadło, Kraków, Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4695-0752 Orcid
All publications →

DOLMEN Company, Marcin Przybyła & Michał Podsiadło, Kraków, Poland

Institute of Archeology, Jagiellonian University, Gołębia 11, 31-007 Kraków, Poland

The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, Russia

The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, Russia

Published at: 2020

Article status: Open

Licence: CC BY-NC-ND  licence icon

Percentage share of authors:

Łukasz Oleszczak (Author) - 20%
Marcin M. Przybyła (Author) - 20%
Igor Pieńkos (Author) - 20%
Konstantin V. Chugunov (Author) - 20%
Nina A. Zhogova (Author) - 20%

Article corrections:

-

Publication languages:

English