Metal Celts from the Little Sea Coast of Lake Baikal

This article examines metal celts accidentally found 2 km west of Kurma on the Little Sea coast of Lake Baikal, in the foothills of Primorsky Ridge, Olkhonsky District, Irkutsk Region. Detailed information is provided on the conditions in which they were found and aspects of their technology, form,...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: A. G. Novikov, O. I. Goriunova
Other Authors: This study was performed under the Public Contract of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia, Project No. FZZE-2020-0021
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: IAET SB RAS 2022
Subjects:
X-ray spectrometry
Olkhon area
Lake Baikal
Scythian-Tagar period
copper celts
taiga
Online Access:https://journal.archaeology.nsc.ru/jour/article/view/1392
https://doi.org/10.17746/1563-0110.2022.50.1.085-090
Description
Summary:This article examines metal celts accidentally found 2 km west of Kurma on the Little Sea coast of Lake Baikal, in the foothills of Primorsky Ridge, Olkhonsky District, Irkutsk Region. Detailed information is provided on the conditions in which they were found and aspects of their technology, form, and decoration. The specimens have no eyelets, are rectangular in cross-section, and were cast in bivalve molds. They differ in size and decoration. On their wide sides, there are holes for supports inserted into the mold halves. While no exact parallels to the celts are known, several chronological indicators (body shape, socket cross-section, absence of eyelets, and decoration) point to the Scythian-Tagar stage. The most similar specimens are the Krasnoyarsk-Angara type of celt, distributed over the taiga belt from the Yenisei to the Angara. X-ray spectrometric analysis suggests that the celts were made of “pure” copper. In the Olkhon area, the Scythian-Tagar celts are associated with the Slab Grave culture, dating to 2778–1998 cal BP.

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