Archaeologists in Kazakhstan have discovered incredibly ancient gold jewelry dating back 2,800 years.
A burial mound in the distant Tarbagatai highlands contained almost 3,000 priceless gold objects.
The “priceless” treasure is believed to be the property of the royal or noble Saka people who ruled Central Asia eight centuries before the advent of Christ.
The archaeologists who found it describe the hidden treasure as “priceless” (Photo: Oleg Belyalov-east2west news)
The intricate jewelry proved that sophisticated craftsmanship existed 2,800 years ago (Photo: East Kazakhstan region/East2west news)
Among the stash are bell-shaped earrings, gold plates with rivets, plates, chains and a necklace with precious stones..
The gold beads that adorned the clothing were made using sophisticated techniques, indicating an exceptional level of skill in jewelry making for the time.
Archaeologists hope to find the remains of the prestigious couple who owned the glittering treasures, but they have not yet opened their tombs.
Professor Zainolla Samashev, in charge of the excavations, said: “A large number of valuable finds in this mound allow us to believe that a man and a woman are buried here, the reigning people or who belonged to the elite of Saka society.” .
About 3,000 precious and gold objects were found in a burial mound (Photo: East Kazakhstan region/East2west news)
Archaeologists believe more treasures will be found in the area (Image: East Kazakhstan region/East2west news)
The head of the East Kazakh region, Danial Akhmetov, said: “This find gives us a completely different view of the history of our people.”
The ancients clearly had exceptional skills in mining, quarrying, selling and making jewelry, he said.
“We are heirs of great people and great technologies,” he said.
On the Eleke Sazy plateau there are about 200 burial mounds where these treasures were found, but many of them were looted in ancient times.
The treasure included earrings in the shape of bells, gold plates with rivets, plates, chains and a necklace with precious stones (Photo: East Kazakhstan Region/East2west News)
The hidden treasure is believed to belong to royal members of the Saka people (Photo: East Kazakhstan region/East2west news)
The plateau is surrounded by rich pastures and was considered a “paradise” by the Saka kings.
Although part of the treasure was removed during the time of Russian Emperor Peter the Great, experts believe that more golden remains will be found.
“There are many burial mounds here and the perspectives are very great,” said prominent Kazakh archaeologist Yerben Oralbai.
