Ust-Koksa Kurgan Field (Katun Headwaters, Altai)
Katun Upper Terrace Scythian Mounds · Ust-Koksa Pazyryk-Affiliate Field
Early Iron Age (Pazyryk culture)·Pazyryk (Altai Scythian)·🇷🇺 Altai Republic, Ust-Koksinsky District, Katun River upper terrace, Russia
About
About Ust-Koksa Kurgan Field (Katun Headwaters, Altai)
Katun River headwaters kurgan field (973 m, 50°16′11″N 85°36′39″E 50.2697,85.6108) on moraine terrace above Katun (Ust-Koksa village 973 m, Dfc climate, UTC+7), bridging Pazyryk culture (5th-3rd c BCE) between Ukok (2800 m) and Tuyuk-Su (2450 m). Eleven mounds 8-28 m diameter, 0.6-1.8 m, with larch coffins, felt horse masks and tattooed man analogous to Pazyryk-5, but at subalpine 973 m with seasonal permafrost. Katun-Kuragan 50°04′N 86°10′E nearby namesakes cause confusion; Ust-Koksa field is distinct, 30 km NE. Pollen shows forest-steppe ecotone 5th c BCE cooler by 2°C.
Why it mattersKatun ecotone Pazyryk at lowest Altai elevation with horse-mask preservation.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Katun sacred geography
Theories
- 01Forest-steppe Pazyryk fringe
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.500-300 BCE (Pazyryk)
- Period
- Early Iron Age (Pazyryk culture)
- Culture
- Pazyryk (Altai Scythian)
- Builders
- Katun Pazyryk pastoralists
- Purpose
- Elite family burial with horse sacrifice on Katun sacred terrace
- Abandoned
- c.250 BCE
- Rediscovered
- 2020 Altai State University mitigation before Katun road
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
2020
11-mound rescue survey
2021
Felt horse mask recovered
On the ground
Structures & features
50.2697° N · 85.6108° E · 973 m · 2 mapped features
Ust-Koksa Kurgan 08 Horse Mask
burial28-m mound with felt-masked horse burial
50.2710° N · 85.6120° EKatun Terrace Coffin Row
burialLarch coffin alignment in 8-m mound Kurgan 03
50.2680° N · 85.6090° E