Silk Roads: Early Period (Prehistory)

Description

In the middle of the II century B.C. the Chinese emperor Wu of Han sent a diplomatic mission to the West headed by Zhang Qian, who went to the lands of Wusun, Fergans and Kangju communities. This voyage is commonly considered as the starting point of the active economic and cultural interactions between the communities of the eastern and western parts of the Eurasian continent and the functioning of the Silk Roads.

However, the archaeological studies have shown that the dialogue of cultures in Eurasia began much earlier than the journey of Zhang Qian. The silk trade was already known in the V-IV centuries B.C. Several burial grounds in different parts of modern territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan testify these interactions.

Thus, during the excavations of “royal kurgans” in Issyk, Arzhan and Pazyryk the Chinese silk and Iranian carpets were found. At the same time, it testifies the significant influence of Achaemenid Iran on the formation of the Sakha-Scythian “animal style”. The silk tissues were recently discovered during the excavations of an ordinary late Sakha necropolis, dated by the IV-III centuries B.C. on the basis of the radiocarbon analysis and located on the territory of the north-eastern Zhetysu Region.

Three of these cultural heritage sites situated on the territory of historical region of Zhetysu have formed the present corridor and includes:

1. Necropolis of Besshatyr; 43°92' N, 78°21' E
2. Necropolis of Boralday; 43°31' N, 76°85' E
3. Necropolis of Esik; 43°39' N, 77°40' E

Necropolis of Besshatyr (V-IV centuries BC)

The component is located on right side of the Ili River 128 km from the city of Almaty. It consists of 81 burial mounds (kurgans) with 45-105 m in diameter and 6-18 m in height.

The necropolis of Besshatyr is one of few sites representing the heritage of the nomadic groups of Saka people.

The chronology of the component is based on findings made in one small burial mound, where the archaeologists have found two buried persons. Each of them had short iron daggers-called “akinak” and the remains of quivers with bronze arrow-heads. Daggers have butterfly-shaped crosslines, the top parts were destroyed. The northern skeleton had an iron “umbon” from the left side and, apparently, the rests of a wooden board. A belt iron buckle was found here. Four cornelian beads were found among the bones (in the field of cervical vertebras of the buried persons) and on the rests of a quiver of a southern skeleton, there were two beads made of soldered gold grains hollow inside. The embankment on all mounds of the Besshatyr necropolis consists of a stone and large chip, top flat (in a cut 2 a trapeze); stones at the basis are densely laid. Design features of the big mounds are deep cavities on slopes of embankments. Probably, cavities indicate the entry into vaults of mounds. Most likely, sometime after fulfillment of a ceremony of a burial place and construction of a mound the entry in a vault remained opened for commemoration, worship and sacrifices, and then it was filled up by collapsing of a part of an embankment of the barrow located above the entry.

Necropolis of Boralday (V-III centuries BC)

The component is located in a few km north-west from the city of Almaty on the territory of the village of Boralday. It stands on the natural high-ground also called Boralday.

The necropolis of Boralday is one of few similar sites representing the heritage of the nomadic groups of Saka people. It includes 52 burial mounds (kurgans) in total, the biggest of which has 20 m in height and 150 m in diameter. The diameter of these mounds is equal to 3-150 m, while their height to 0,1-14 m. The necropolis has a size of 3000x800 m and modern house constructions on its territory.

Necropolis of Esik (V-III centuries BC)

The component is located on the left side of the mountain river of Esik, near the city of Esik situated 50 km east from the city of Almaty. It includes 45 big burial mounds (kurgans) of 30-90 m in diameter and 4-15 m in height. These cultural heritage sites are considered as the classic ‘royal’ kurgans of the Saka tribal group living on the territory of the Zhetysu Region – one of the first communities that created the state on the territory of modern Kazakhstan.

The site became very well-known on the national and international levels after the discovery of one mound that received the name “Mound of Esik”. The mound was located in the western part of the necropolis, had 60 m in diameter and 6 m in height. Two tombs were found here during the destruction of the mound during the modern construction works. One of these tombs was repeatedly robbed in the past, while the other tomb remained completely untouched. Inside the second tomb, archaeologists found one body of a young person together with over 4000 golden objects, iron sword and dagger, bronze mirror, and several clay, metal and wooden vessels. All of them were situated in their initial positions and allowed to make a unique reconstruction of the funerary traditions and the costume of the buried person, who received the name “Golden Man”.

The site is situated under the protection of the state and its managing institution – State Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve of Esik. Museum-Reserve provides physical protection to the site and implements the archaeological studies on its territory. These studies revealed several pieces of the silk tissue made in China and demonstrated the commercial and cultural interactions between China and Zhetysu Region during IV-III centuries BC.

Justification of Outstanding Universal Value

The proposed series of burial mounds has the Outstanding Universal Value as the unique demonstration of the interchanges existing between ancient China and Central Asia in the pre-Silk Roads period and the remains of the tangible culture and spiritual beliefs of the nomadic Saka communities living on the territory of the Zhetysu Region.

Criterion (ii): The archaeological artifacts found inside numerous “royal” kurgans of the property demonstrate the existence of the economic and commercial exchange between the territories of modern western China and south-eastern Kazakhstan. Chronological dating of these artifacts shows that the intercivilization exchange was taking place even before the period widely considered as the start of functioning of the network of the corridors of the Silk Roads.

Criterion (iii): The burial mounds on the territory of all components of this property are the outstanding remains of the Saka nomadic civilization of the V-III centuries BC. Several tombs inside of them remained until our days and provided unique testimonies on the tangible culture and the religious beliefs of local Saka communities that left not many other sources of these sides of their life.

Statements of authenticity and/or integrity

Authenticity

All burial mounds forming the components of the property were robbed in the past. This fact has no particular negative impact on the authenticity of the site, as the kurgans are situated in this state for several centuries and millenniums.

The burial kurgans of Saka communities were widely present on the large part of the Zhetysu Region. Unfortunately, many of them were already destroyed (entirely or partially) by the modern constructions and economic exploitation of the land. However, three components of the property have a good state of authenticity. Two sites (Esik and Boralday) are located near the big cities but their territories have a very little amount of modern constructions and have the administrative status of the cultural heritage sites protected by the state. The third site (Besshatyr) is located in the isolated area on the eastern limit of the artificial lake of Kapshagay and also has no modern constructions on its territory.

Integrity

Despite the fact that the Saka kurgans were initially situated on large territory of the Zhetysu Region, three components of the present property are the main concentrations of burial mounds left in our days uncovered by the modern constructions. As the result, the property corresponds to the factor of integrity.

Comparison with other similar properties

The present property demonstrates a certain similarity with the World Heritage Site “Dilmun Burial Mounds” inscribed in the World Heritage List by Bahrain: the similar nature of the burial construction, the high concentration of the burial mounds on the small territory, and the use of the burial mounds for the “entombment” of the local royalties.

However, the burial culture of kurgan-making in the Zhetysu Region covers a much bigger geographical territory. Three components of the property include the number of kurgans, which is several times bigger than the Dilmun Burial Mounds. At the same time these three sites are not all the burial grounds of Saka tribe remained until our days, but the densest concentrations of these mounds on the territories not occupied by the modern constructions. The huge number of Saka kurgans partially explains the fact that the archaeological studies revealed several untouched tombs that were not robbed. If the number of these burial constructions was smaller, all the tombs would be probably found and robbed long before our days. As a result, modern archaeologists were having much more difficulties to identify the commercial and cultural interactions in the middle of the Eurasian continent before the functioning of the Silk Roads.