Kurgan Burial Mounds of the Fergana "Nomads"

NOMADS OF ANCIENT FERGANA

Currently, significant materials have been accumulated regarding the burial monuments of ancient (classical) Fergana, during the time of the existence of the Davan state (2nd century BC - 5th century AD). The studied burial grounds belong to the nomadic population, which, under the specific physical and geographical conditions of the Fergana Valley, adhered to a peculiar form of vertically-seasonal semi-nomadic economy. To emphasize the uniqueness of the economy, lifestyle, and cultural appearance of these tribes, and to distinguish them from the sedentary agricultural population, we refer to them as "nomads."

Kurgan burial grounds are known in almost all foothill areas of Fergana, on the ridges and in the valleys of numerous rivers flowing from the mountain ranges. There is currently no complete description of the monuments that would provide an overview of their distribution and the number of burial grounds in specific areas. In a 1960 work, the author accounted for 20 such burial grounds. B.A. Litvinsky noted 18 burial grounds and 8 groups of kurgans (Mug-khona and stone boxes) in 1972. In a table compiled in 1981 by N.G. Gorbunova, there were already 53 monuments listed. However, from this list, the Temir-Korug burial ground and similar burials discovered along canal routes should be excluded, as we believe they belonged to the sedentary agricultural population (the Ferganans). Therefore, 49 objects remain. In recent years, new burial grounds have been studied, and I have currently accounted for 78 investigated monuments.

But even this number is not final. For instance, Yu.D. Baruzdin wrote about excavations at seven burial grounds, but materials have only been published from four. It is unknown how many monuments have been studied in the area of the Kerki-Donskoye reservoir and in other locations.

There is also a lack of accurate data on the number of Kurgans and excavated graves. The figure provided by N.G. Gorbunova of approximately 6000 kurgans, of which less than one-sixth have been excavated, is approximate and minimal. It does not take into account that at the Kök-Tesh burial ground, Yu.D. Baruzdin counted 300 kurgans, and in Niyazbek - 80 (Litvinsky, 1972), among others. In recent years, G.A. Brykina identified over 300 kurgans in the Khoja-Bekirgan Valley. In one burial ground, Varzyk, there were about 300 graves. This list can be continued. One thing is clear - the mentioned figure should be increased several times. Compiling a complete list of nomad burial grounds from the period in question remains a relevant task in the archaeology of Fergana!

Regarding the degree of study and informational potential, a more accurate picture can be formed by referring to the data on the number of excavated kurgans in specific burial grounds. As shown in Table 1, in half of all studied monuments, single kurgans have been excavated. Only five burial grounds have been fully researched - Keyragach, Vorukh, Kara-Bulak, Hangiz, Gurmiron. However, even for these monuments, complete publications are lacking.

Despite the incompleteness of the available data, an analysis of the entire body of materials allows for a new approach to the issues of typology and zoning. This is also facilitated by the emergence of new materials and publications.


History and archaeology of ancient Tien Shan