The golden burial of a Scythian king In 2001, more than 5,000 gold objects were discovered in an untouched Scythian burial in Tuva, Central Asia. But where exactly is Tuva? We first look at an earlier excavation that pushed back the date of the Scythians, and then look in detail at the latest magnificent discovery. […]
Russia
Russia’s wealthy warrior
Archaeologists have identified a spectacular 2,200-year-old warrior burial in Russia, part of a previously unknown necropolis in the central Caucasus mountains. Located 800m (2,600ft) above sea level, near modern Mezmay, the site came to the attention of archaeologists after Krasnodar Regional Museum was alerted to large-scale looting in the area. Museum staff, directed by Nikolay […]
Russia: Gone Fishing
The discovery of 7,500-year-old fish traps in a Russian river valley has given new insight into prehistoric European settlement patterns. The Mesolithic nomadic hunter-gatherers were believed to move with the seasons to follow food sources. Now excavation at a site in the Dubna river basin outside Moscow shows evidence of continuous year-round occupation. The three-year […]
Siberia: Barking up the wrong family tree
A 33,000-year-old canine skull is challenging accepted theories on dog domestication. Rather than being descended from a single ancestry, it appears dogs were becoming man’s best friend in different parts of the world, and at different times. The remains were discovered in the Altai Mountains in Siberia by a team led by Nikolai Ovodov, of […]
New Dates for Neanderthal Extinction
Researchers at the University of Oxford and at University College Cork, in Ireland, have dated a Neanderthal fossil discovered in a significant cave site in Russia in the northern Caucasus, and found it to be 10,000 years older than previous research had suggested. The research centres on Mezmaiskaya Cave, a key site in the northern […]
Siberian island mystery solved
Recent excavations have shown Medieval ruins in the Russian republic of Tuva were monastic and reminiscent of China’s ‘Forbidden City’. Por-Bajin – meaning Clay House – sits on a small island in the centre of a remote lake in the Shojgu’s native Russian republic of Tuva, high in the mountains of southern Siberia and 32km […]
Whaling in Arctic Prehistory
Finds of carved ivory have suggested the methods of boat building and artic hunting of prehistoric Eskimo people from the far east of Russia
St Petersburg: World Heritage Site at Risk
St Petersburg’s historic skyline is under threat from development. Energy giant Gazprom wants to build a giant 396m tower to house its new headquaters
Novgorod, Russia
Russia’s pre-eminent medieval site
Mammoths at Lugovskoe, Siberia
Fascinating finds at west Siberian mammoth burial site
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