Bone Sleeve with Aramaic Letters from the Sakar-Chaga 3 Burial Ground and the Problem of Contacts of Central Asian Nomads with the Civilizations of Western Asia

After excavations of the mound Arzhan-2, the main burial of which dates back to the second half of the 7th century BC, the scholars could not help but raise the question of the contacts of its creators with the civilizations of the Near East. In order to determine the main circle of contacts of Arzhan-2 in the Near East, it is necessary to summarize all the facts that may indicate the existence of such ties. The presence of coriander in the burial mound, as well as jewelry decorated with grain and enamel, made using the true cloisonne technique, proves that the connections of Arzhan-2 in the southwestern direction reached at least Western Iran. The influence of the cultural traditions of Western Asia on the material complex of the Arzhan-2 mound was facilitated by the Sakas of the Aral Sea region. The discovery in the Sakar-chaga 3 burial ground bone sleeve with the image of two opposing wild boars, the closest analogies of which are found in the Arzhan-1 and Arzhan-2 mounds, and the Aramaic letters yod, he and waw, belonging to the last quarter of the 8th – 7th centuries BC, allows us to assert that the Sakas penetrated as far as the state of Mannea, in which the Aramaic script was used, and jewelry decorated with grain and cloisonne (a treasure from Ziwiye) are also known. Moreover, these campaigns could be made only before the formation of the Median kingdom at the end of the 670s BC

Ancient history · Archaeology · Excavation · Geography · Treasure · Ancient Near East History · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Eurasian Exchange Networks · History · Geology