1,500-Year-Old Gold Plaques Unearthed in Kazakhstan

ALMATY, KAZAKHSTAN—Live Science reports that two gold plaques each measuring about 1.5 inches wide have been recovered in remote eastern Kazakhstan from the tomb complex of Eleke Sazy by a team of researchers led by Zainolla Samashev of Kazakhstan’s Institute of Archaeology. The sixth-century A.D. tomb is thought to have belonged to a nobleman or prince who was later deified in the seventh century, when the tomb was expanded and became a pilgrimage destination. The plaques were found in the tomb’s central chamber, where the occupant had been cremated. One of the gold artifacts was badly damaged during the cremation, Samashev said. Images on the ornaments, which are thought to have been worn as belt buckles, depict the great khan, or khagan, of the nomadic Gōktürks, he added. The crowned ruler is shown seated on a throne resembling two horses and is flanked by kneeling servants offering food. “This clearly depicts the sacred nature of power in ancient Turkic society,” Samashev explained. The plaques may have been worn by the occupant of the tomb, or perhaps by aides who attended his cremation. Additional artifacts recovered from the site include horse equipment, an amulet made of rock crystal, and objects made of silver, iron, and bronze. To read about 2,700-year-old burials uncovered in eastern Kazakhstan, go to "Iron Age Teenagers."