EKR Historical-Cultural Museum

The ancient nomads were not only excellent horsemen and skilled warriors, but also skillful craftsmen. The unique animal style, in which many objects of the Saka world are decorated (weapons, horse harness, jewelry, clothing, dishes) is also a decoration of our exposition.

The earliest stage of the Early Iron Age is represented by the excavations of the Golden Chilikta burial mound of the 7th-6th centuries. BC, researched by S.S. Chernikov in 1960.

The model of the mound gives an idea of ​​the funeral rite, and the finds - about the amazing skill of ancient jewelers - artists. The famous Chilikta golden deer with branched antlers has become the emblem of our museum. The excavations of A. Toleubaev in the Chiliktinskaya valley in 2003 of mound No. 1 gave unique finds: 524 gold items (images of an argali, wolf, deer, eagle, leopard) and more than 2000 small gold beads and pendants that adorned a caftan or a robe.

These findings made it possible to talk about the so-called “third golden man” on the territory of Kazakhstan. The process of these excavations can be seen in the exhibition. Tools, weapons, bridle sets, toilet items - all these items on display are decorated with images of animals in the Scythian-Siberian animal style.

Most of the exposition of this period is represented by materials about the excavations of the Berel burial ground. The monument gained worldwide fame thanks to the research of the expedition of the Institute of Archeology. OH. Margulan under the leadership of Z. Samashev. Archaeologists investigated the burials of the nomadic nobility and highly artistic products made in a special manner typical of the art of early nomads, in the so-called Scythian-Siberian animal style.

At the II International scientific-practical conference "Altai - the golden cradle of the Turkic world" the Regional Museum of History and Local Lore presented the exhibition "Ancient Treasures of the Upper Irtysh Region". The finds of expeditions in 2017 at the unique monuments of Shilikty, Berel, Ablaykit were demonstrated. Unique artifacts of the Eneolithic era were discovered in the Zaisan region: ceramic vessels, copper knives, beads.

A female burial was excavated in Berel mound No. 5, where unique finds of fragments of a golden headdress and weapons of the “Berel warrior” were found.

New finds of Tibetan manuscripts on birch bark and household items in the Ablaykit fortress.