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The '''Issyk ]''', in south-eastern ], less than 20 km east from the ], near ], was discovered in ]. Formerly dated to the 5th to 4th century BC, it has been re-evaluated as a 4th to 3rd century BC burial mound (Hall 1997). The '''Issyk ]''', in south-eastern ], less than 20 km east from the ], near ], was discovered in ]. Formerly dated to the 5th to 4th century BC, it has been re-evaluated as a 4th to 3rd century BC burial mound (Hall 1997).


It contained a skeleton of uncertain sex, interred with warrior's equipment, variously dubbed "golden man" or "golden princess", and with rich funerary goods, including 4,000 gold ornaments. A notable item is a silver cup bearing an inscription. It contained a skeleton of uncertain sex, interred with warrior's equipment, variously dubbed "golden man" or "golden princess", and with rich funerary goods, including 4,000 gold ornaments. A notable item is a silver cup bearing an inscription.

Revision as of 10:06, 11 December 2006

drawing of the Issyk inscription

The Issyk kurgan, in south-eastern Kazakhstan, less than 20 km east from the Talgar alluvial fan, near Issyk, was discovered in 1969. Formerly dated to the 5th to 4th century BC, it has been re-evaluated as a 4th to 3rd century BC burial mound (Hall 1997).

It contained a skeleton of uncertain sex, interred with warrior's equipment, variously dubbed "golden man" or "golden princess", and with rich funerary goods, including 4,000 gold ornaments. A notable item is a silver cup bearing an inscription.

The Issyk inscription is undeciphered, and is is assumed to be in Scythian, and would be the one of very few autochthonous epigraphic traces of that language. The letters of the inscription have also been compared to the 8th century Turkic Orkhon script, with speculations that the inscription could also be Proto-Turkic (Amanjolov 2003).

References

  • A. Amanjolov "History and Theory of Ancient Turkic Script", Almaty, "Mektep", 2003, pp. 218-219, ISBN 9965-16-204-2
  • Hall, Mark E. Towards an absolute chronology for the Iron Age of Inner Asia. Antiquity 71 (1997): 863-874.

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