Magnificent exemplars: The electronic catalog of ancient statues in 3D format is compiled by archaeologists from AltSU following the results of the expedition to Tuva

From September 12 to 26, a team of researchers led by Professor Alexei Tishkin worked in the Republic of Tuva under the grant from the Russian Science Foundation "The world of ancient nomads of Inner Asia: interdisciplinary studies of material culture, statues and economy."

This is the second scientific expedition under the project. The first one took place this summer in the Altai Republic. Both expeditions are united by one goal - a detailed fixation and a comprehensive study of "deer" stones - ancient anthropomorphic sculptures with images of deer and other animals, as well as engraved military attributes and various ancient objects. "Deer" stones were used in the construction of burial mounds (hereksurs) and memorial complexes as monuments for dead people at the beginning of the 1st millennium BC.

How archaeologists preserve the ancient heritage of nomads

The main task of archaeologists is to document such objects in order to create an electronic catalog in which ancient sculptures will be available to see to everyone who is interested in the culture and art of the ancient nomads of Inner Asia.

Field work took place in the south of the Republic of Tuva, on the border with Mongolia. Of particular importance were the monuments with the designation Khovuzhuk-Aksy, where in 2019 the expedition of the Institute of the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences (St. Petersburg), led by a famous scientist Marina Kilunovskaya, discovered a series of “deer” stones. Among them there was a memorial complex, similar to that studied by scientists from Altai State University in the Altai Republic in the valley of the Yustyt River. The Tuva monument is also located in the middle of a large intermountain valley not far from a large khereksur (about 90 meters in diameter). Like many similar monuments, it was destroyed in after years.

“In total, more than 30 “deer” stones were found at the Khovuzhuk-Aksy sites. They are now scattered across the valley, but it was quite clearly possible to localize the memorial complex on the basis of the foundations that have retained their original position, and the two “deer” stones remaining in the row. But the commemorations and altars that accompanied them, built in the course of ritual actions, suffered much more. The problem was that the valley was actively plowed up in Soviet times, and many archaeological sites were practically destroyed during such work. A significant part of the "deer" stones was found in a reused form in the Turkic enclosures of the early Middle Ages,” said Head of the Department of Archeology, Ethnography and Museology of the Institute of International Relations of Altai State University, Professor Alexei Tishkin.

What difficulties archaeologists faced

The main task of the scientists was photogrammetry of "deer" stones - multiple photographs of the object from all sides for further construction of a high-quality 3D model. For one stone, it was necessary to take from 400 to 1500 photographs - this is a difficult and painstaking work.

We worked from morning to night. Small stones were shot quickly, but large steles had to be tinkered with. The statues that were lying had to be lifted, turned over, they had to be washed. In addition, the stones were subjected to various anthropogenic and natural influences, which made the well-established process difficult. For example, each piece of the broken "deer" stone had to be removed separately. On some slabs, the top crust broke off. We were lucky that the embossing turned out to be quite deep, and the images were clearly visible. Among the studied sculptures there are simply magnificent exemplars, which we were pleasantly surprised at. Probably, the most vivid impression was left by a large and dynamic image of a quadriga - four horses harnessed to a chariot. Small deer stones reflect a minimum of realities, but they all have their own individuality. The image of a shield as one of the attributes of warriors turned out to be rare. The rest of the weapons (chasings, daggers, bows in gorites) are the most frequent images, and they are important for dating ancient statues, Alexey Tishkin noted.

Part of the work was carried out in the National Museum of the Republic of Tuva, as well as in the Turan Museum of Local History. A large array of "deer" stones, delivered from all over the republic, is stored there. One of the tasks of scientists is to find out where they were brought from, because the context of discovery is very important for research. However, the information left by previous colleagues turned out to be rather scarce. For archaeologists, it was important to note the local features of the statues that were located in the semi-peripheral zone of the ancient nomadic empire. Many images are stylized and rethought or reflect the realities of the life of nomads who lived north of the center of such power. In this expedition, scientists continued to fix the color range of stones with a new device, determine the features of knockout, the presence or absence of paint.

What signs archaeologists believe in

“I am happy to announce that we have discovered previously unknown “deer” stones. In archeology, there is such a sign that all important finds are discovered on the last day of the expedition. It worked in our case too. We were already driving from the final destination to Kyzyl and suddenly saw familiar outlines in the distance. We were very lucky with the weather - the sun was shining, and this statue, made of light stone, literally shone in its rays. We drove closer, and indeed, it turned out to be a “deer” stone, moreover, an embossed belt and weapons were clearly visible on it. We had to stay for several hours to complete this object. Unfortunately, it stands alone and taken out of context. This trend is observed not only in Tuva, when the “deer” stones are transferred from the original to other places,” shared Alexey Tishkin.

Scientists have received a large array of materials to be prepared not only for the catalog, but also for detailed research. The participants of the RSF project plan to involve undergraduate and graduate students in this and further work.