The royal Arzhan-2 monument and the Scythian world of Eurasia in the 1st millenium BC

Chronology, environment, society and economy

• Start Date: April 2004
• Duration: 36 Months

The project is focused on solving problems of the contacts and interactions of the Eurasian Scythian cultures. Archaeological and radiocarbon data will allow determination of the location of the unique Scythian period Arzhan-2 monument in the system of Eurasian Scythia cultures. Through construction of a tree-ring chronology and radiocarbon dating, the chronological position of the Arzhan-2 monuments will be determined on the calendar time scale using high-precision measurements, «wiggle-matching» and mathematical statistical methods. The provenances of the metal, alloys and ceramic artifacts will be achieved by isotopic analyses using modern equipment with high precision. The comparison of the results obtained for the European and Asian Scythian period monuments will help to answer questions about the trade and cultural contacts between Eurasian Scythian nomads which are so far unresolved. The Scythian cultures in Southern Siberia and Central Asia suddenly appeared at the beginning of the 9-8th centuries BC. They then spread to occupy the entire Eurasian steppes. To understand the reasons for and the routes of migration it is necessary to reconstruct the environmental conditions. This research will be done using pollen analysis, geochemical analysis of the burial soils, peat and lakes deposits supplemented by the stable isotope analysis of bone remains. These complex investigations of Eurasian Scythia using different scientific disciplines will allow a more complete view of the environment, history, society and economy to be formed of the Scythian nomads in the 1st millennium BC over the wide space of the Eurasian steppes.

Consortium

• Glasgow University - United Kingdom
• University of Groningen - The Netherlands
• Instiute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem dynamics - The Netherlands
• Deutsches Archaologisches Institut - Germany
• University of Helsinki - Finland
• History of Material Culture - Russia
• State Hermitage Museum - Russia
• Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute - Russia
• All-Russian Scientific research - Russia
• Institute of Volcanic Geology - Russia