Excavations of the Kos-Oba burial ground

The expedition of the Ural Pedagogical Institute excavated the burial ground of Kos-Oba, located 2 km northwest of the village of Mashteksai, Dzhangalin District, Ural Region. 16 barrows containing 36 burials were unearthed. One tomb is from the Bronze Age, one is late nomadic, and the rest are Sarmatian.

In burial 2, kurgan 13, the buried lay in a crouched position on his left side, with his head to the east. The bones of the legs and feet, in anatomical order, lay on the skull at a distance of 0.4 m. Probably, here we meet with the rite of ritual dismemberment of the corpse. The burial dates back to the Bronze Age.

Sarmatian burials were made in rectangular pits, in an extended position on the back, oriented to the south. The arms of the dead were bent at the elbows, the hands lay on the pelvic bones. In burial 3, kurgan 11, two stucco and three alabaster vessels, a whorl and an iron knife were found. One of the alabaster vessels had a rounded body, a bent rim and two handles in figurines with lion bodies and snakeheads. Probable date of burial 3rd -2nd centuries BC.

In burial 1, kurgan 7, the burial rite is similar. Near the shoulder bones of the arms, small stone beads were found, with which clothes were embroidered. On the shoulder blade of a ram lay an iron knife with a straight back and a blade beveled to the point. In the northeast corner of the pit stood two molded vessels. One is a small thin-walled red-clay vessel with a biconical body, a flattened bottom and a high neck. The other is a black-clay jug, ornamented along the neck and body with four belts of three incised lines in each. A fragment of a cylindrical ceramic incense burner was found in the northwestern corner of the pit. This burial dates back to the 1st-2nd centuries.

In the late nomadic burial (burial 2, kurgan 11), the deceased lay in an extended position on his back, with his head to the west. Between the feet of the buried in anatomical order lay the bones of the horse's legs. The inventory (a massive bone arrowhead and a bone bow) belongs to the 9th-11th centuries.