Sputnik

In the fall of 1978, a Soviet-Afghan archaeological expedition led by Viktor Ivanovich Sarianidi, which had been working in Afghanistan since 1969, excavated the large Tillya-tepe hill three kilometers east of the Afghan city of Shibargan. The hill hid the remains of a very ancient structure, the fortified residence of the ruler. But the excavations took a completely unexpected turn when gold items suddenly appeared under the shovels of the workers.

Thus began an almost detective story of one of the largest, most valuable and interesting finds in the entire history of archeology - more than 20 thousand various gold and silver jewelry.

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On the western slope of Tillya-tepe, uninhabited for almost 400 years, in the 1st century. BC. - I century. AD a small secret cemetery arose. It was on it that seven graves were discovered, six of which were excavated. They were all very rich, literally strewn with gold ornaments.

The arrangement of the graves was very simple: a deep, up to 2 meters, pit in the remains of an older structure, inside which a coffin was installed. Then the pit was covered with wooden beams, after which the grave was covered with earth. No traces of graves remained on the surface; they were carefully masked with sod. The burial ceremony was typical for nomads.

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The excavated graves include five female and one male burials; everyone is very rich. Basically, these were young women aged 20-30. By the appearance of their dresses, ceremonial, which were clearly used during receptions in the palace, one can unequivocally judge that they were the spouses of the rulers. Why they died is hard to say. But illness and difficult childbirth were typical causes of death, even among the nobility.