S. S. Ivanov (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan)
Irdyk Hoard with a Mirror with a Zoomorphic Decor from the Issyk-Kul Lake Region
The author publishes a unique hoard of bronze objects found in the area of the Irdyk gorge in the southeastern part of the Issyk-Kul region. It consisted of three pairs of items: daggers, sickles and mirrors that were not accidental. There was a stylized relief image in the Scythian-Siberian animal style on the one of the two mirrors. This mirror is the first known find of such type from the territory of the Saka culture of the Tien Shan region. The other items from the hoard have analogies in the materials of previously known burial grounds and hoards of the Saka period in this region. This allows relating the hoard from Irdyk to the 7th — first half of the 6th centuries BC. Presence of paired objects in this hoard also attracts attention because it is observed in the Tien Shan region for the first time. Presence of these three categories of items in the hoard can be attributed as a ritual offering from the three most important social groups of the Saka society — priests, warriors, plain herdsmen and farmers, that is also confirmed by the ancient written accounts.
Keywords: Early Iron Age, ancient nomads epoch, Early Saka period, Tien Shan region, hoard of bronze objects, mirrors
Sergey Ivanov (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan). Candidate of Historical Sciences. Kyrgyz National University named after Jusup Balasagyn. Frunze St., 547, Bishkek, 720033, Kyrgyzstan