ORGANISMO

AUTONOMO DE
MUSEOS Y CENTROS
 OXFORD VI AND SEAC 99
((Astronomy and cultural diversity))

César Esteban
Juan Antonio Belmonte
Editorsl Editores

Proceedings of the lnternationalConference ((OXFORD VI & SEAC 99))

held in Museo de la Ciencia y el Cosmos,
La Laguna, June 1999

Memorias del Congreso Internacional «OXFORD VI y SEAC 99))

celebrado en el Museo de la Ciencia y el Cosmos,
La Laguna, Junio de 1999
 "NIUSTACHED" BARROWS AS THE HORlZOlV SOLAR CALENDARS OF
EARLY NOMADS OF KAZAKHSTAN

Nyssanbai M. Bekbassar
Astrophysical Inslitute. National Academy of Sciences
of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Altamy, Kazakhstan

WHAT ARE "MUSTACHED" BARROWS?

At a huge area of a Steppe zone of Eurasia, frorn Volga region in the west, through Altai in the east, frorn
Sernirechje in the south, and through South Ural in the north during the period of Early lron Age (VI1 BC to V AD),
constructions special by design had started to appear. These are barrows (!.e. kurgan in Turkish) with stone ridges, best
known in the archeological Iiterature under the narne "rnustached" barrows (MB). By appearance, they represent a
horseshoe-shaped construction Frorn both sides at a srnall distance frorn a single or a group of stone barrows, in
diarneters frorn 5 and more rneters in the eastern direction (seldorn also in the south one) slightly expanding, two stone
ridges frorn 1 to 2 m wide in a crescent-shaped forrn are extended. As a rule the height of barrows and ridges is srnall - they
raise above the surface of ground only for sorne ten centirneters. Only in rare cases the height of the principal barrow
reaches 2-3 m, and ridges 0.5 m The length of ridges or ((rnustaches))varies frorn 20 to 200 m and more. The beginning
and the end of «rnustaches)) has the forrn of srnall kurgan or ring cairn, or rnarked by standing stones - stela. Sornetirnes
axis of the ((rnustached)) kurgans is rnarked by a stone rows, or more frequently by a single cairn being located in the
eastern side of kurgan cornplex between the ends of ridges.

Being rernained similar in design, these kurgan cornplexes have variations by nurnber and placernent of addi-
tional kurgans regarding the principal one, as well as the structure of ridges. The nurnber of kurgans in certain cases
reaches seven, but the rnajority of ((rnustached))kurgans consist of one large one or two ones - large and srnall located on
the direction of north-south or east-west. On the principal kurgans-cairns stones are sornetirne in the forrn of the ring or
in the forrn of spiral branch More often ccrnustaches)) represent entire ridges, its stones are located in the continental
surface irregularly, thick in few layers without any systern. In sorne of thern, sorne specifics are rnarked both in the forrn of
separate or adjoining to each other round cairns-links constituting a chain (1). and in the forrn of a stone corridor or
furrow with stones that are installed crossly and overlapped by stone plates (2).

'THE PROBLEMS OF INTERPRETATION

Though these rnonurnents were studied during a long period of time, since 1932 (3,4), the issues of purpose,
architectural peculiarities and sernantic are not still solved. Until now, cornplex researches were not conducted on any of
the MB. Excavations have a fragmentary nature. An absolute dating has not been identified. Dating on cornparative
analysis of things out frorn the MB thernselves, as well as neighbouring burial rnounds adrnits a large scatter in identifying
their age. According to the comprehensive literature, MB are considered as: a) an over grave construction; b) a cult or ritual
place; c) a cornrnernoration construction; d) an astronomical site.
"MUSTACHED" BARROWS AND WORLD VlEW OF EURASIAN STEPPE ZONE NOMADS

Traces of many offerings and ritual fires can be found on the sites of 'mustached' barrows. These special archaeo-
logical structures, perhaps, contain certain information about the cult, religion and worldview of the people that lived in
this vast steppe 2500 years ago. The offering of horse, crescent-shaped form and the eastward orientation of the ridges
suggest the horse cult and horse sacrifice to the solar god, which was widely spread in Eurasian Steppe belt in the previous
and subsequent epochs. As Herodotus wrote about Scythian tribes, "Of al1 the gods only the Sun is worshipped and to
whom the horse is sacrificed. The meaning of this sacrifice is only the fastest animal befits the fastest o f al1 gods"
(5). The zoomorphic form of the horse, possessing a cosmographical function was the most adequate for the myths and
religious system of the people of the Great Steppe; for them horse breeding was the principal activity. This fact is reflected
in ancient lndian mythology where the zoomorphic symbolism of cosmos is represented by the various parts of the body
of the sacrificial horse and functions of its organism:

Dawn - that is truly the head o f a sacrificial horse, Sun - eyes, Wind - breathe, mouth - Fire o f
Vaishvanara, Year - carcass o f the sacrificial horse, Sky - hill, Air Space - stomach, Earth - hoofs,
Cardinal points - sides, Intermediate Countries o f the World - ribs, Seasons o f the Year - limbs, Months
a n d Half-months - joints, Days a n d Nights - feet, Stars - bones, Clouds - flesh, Sand - f o o d in the
stomach, Rivers -veins, Mountains - liver a n d lungs, Plants a n d Trees -mare, Rising Sun - front part,
setting Sun - back part.' ("Brikhadaranyaka-Upanishada") (6).

Horse burials were a characteristic ritual feature of horse-breeder nomadic tribes. It was thought that they played
escort functions in funeral rites. E.E. Kuzmina believes that a horse being co-buried with the died, is a sacrifice and
considers this horse as a mediator between the world of alive and heavenly dwelling-place of ancestors, as well as a power
providing a man with revival in another world to the new, immortal life (7).

At the same time, two ridges have a form of a young, new born Moon in the west (right or south ridge), and old,
dying Moon in the east (left or north ridge). Thus, if we distract from some variation of their types, "mustached" barrows
symbolizes the Sun and the Moon: a round disk of the principal kurgan - the Sun that does not change its face and two
crescent-shaped ridges - faces of the Moon at the moments of their "birth" and "death", symbolizing a revival after the
death.

We should emphasize also the fact that "mustached" kurgans represent a man with out-stretched forward arms
to the direction of rising Sun. If we look at him from the top, ¡.e. from the heavens, then a man's head standing in the pose
of a prayer, is projected to the principal kurgan, and arms - to the two ridges with the final cairns depicting shoulders and
hands. We can also find a comparison in the following Mithra hymn verse (8):

We worship Mithra, His lifted hands,

To whom the ruler of the country prays,
Calling to hirn for help, To hirn we lift our hands,
To whorn the leaders of the tribe call,
Calling to him for help.

In addition, an obvious orientation exist to heavenly fire - Sun: al1 the ridges of kurgans, without exception, by
their open ends are located to the direction of rising Sun, some of them to the direction of the south - to the direction of
culminating Sun. The faces of Ancient Turk sculptures are also oriented to the East, rows of stelas from commemoration
fences are aligned mainly also to the east. East - is not only a place of the Sunrise, but also a side in which Ulgen, Turkic
supreme divine and his blessed kingdom inhabits. Correspondingly, Yerlik and his dark kingdom - in the west, where Sun
and the life of a man disappears.

A four corner country of ancient nomads is the reflection of an idea about the organized Universe. In such a
space-ordered world. according to archaic conception, the center o f the world has a maximum of sacra1 features. through
of the use of elements of the "MB" for a purpose to create a calendar. Below I will provide with some examples of the use
of the "MB" as a horizontal calendar.

On Atassu-1 site (Fig.1) during the year while observing frorn the central barrow-8, the end mark of the right
ridge aligns with sunrise on the days of the equinoxes, whereas the start mark aligns with the sunrise on the summer
solstice. Consequently, from barrow-8, it is possible to easily observe the daily sunrises from the spring equinox to the
autumn equinox. During the interval between these dates, the sunrise points moves over the northern ridge from the end
rnark to the start one and back, reaching the start point on the day of the surnrner solstice To determine the rniddle dates
behveen the equinoxes and summer solstice in that half of the year (which occurs on 07.05 and 07.08) there is the need
to cross over to the neighboring supplementary
FICIJRE
2. SCHEMA'I'IC PLAK OF ATASSU3.
barrow-l and observe Sunrise over the start mark
of that ridge. During the second half of the year,
the observer moved daily frorn end mark of the
D Risc of Llie Siiii
ridge to the start one and back with such speed. at
Se~oftlieSi111 that Sunset was constantly fixed over kurgan-8.
-- - ------ Kise osLliebli,oli When observer in this manner reaches thestart mark
the day of winter solstice will occur. The rniddle
- - - - - - - - - - - - - + S E ( o r o l e tv1oon date between the equinoxes and winter solstices
10 20 ill <p. 47,s (which occurs on 07.1 1 and 05.02) is determined
. . O
by observing Sunset over barrow-l from the start
mark of the ridge.
:' hliii SS
h1iii.SS One of the possible options to carry out
~~IIJI.SS observations in the Saga site (Fig.2) is as follows.
4 An observer locating on the principie kurgan-1 on
the date spring equinox, observes the Sunrise over
the end mark of the right (south) ridge (cairn-4),
indicating to the top of the nearest hill. During
"the first month" the points of rises move to the
north approaching to the eastern supplementary
kurgan-8. The Sunrise over 8 would testify to the
onset of the beginning of the "second month" (on
07.05). In the next days, when an observer moves
from 1 to 4 with an appropriate speed, the Sun
constantly will rise over the sarne kurgan-8. When
an observer reaches theend mark of the right ridge,
the day of summer solstice will occur. Moving every
day in the back direction from 4 to 1, it is possible
again to constantly observe Sunrise over cairn-8.
When an observer reaches the principal kurgan-1,
the rniddle date between the summer solstice and
autumn equinox (on 07.08) will occur. In the fu-
ture. when there is a repeated Sunrise over the end
E hlui SS mark of the right ridge, the day of autcimn equinox
7 11
will occur. In subsequent days, during the "fifth
F~gure2 month", positions of the rising Sun will be within
the horizon area, being restricted by the right ridge.
When there is the Sunrise over the start mark of the ridge, a rniddle date between the autumn equinox and winter solstice
(on 07.1 1) will occur. In the evening of the sarne day, the Sun sets over the start mark of this ridge (cairn-5), i f we observe
from cairn-8. Then, starting from this rniddle date till the day of the winter solstice, the Sun will set over the same right
ridge having reached on this date by its position, the point of the horizon over the end mark cairn-4. After the winter
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