Rare 2,000-year-old weapon linked to warrior people found in Kazakhstan, photos show
Archaeologists recently unearthed a rare 2,000-year-old dagger in Kazakhstan, officials said.
The ancient weapon was found during an excavation at the Taldinsky Historical and Archaeological Park in the Karaganda Region in eastern Kazakhstan, according to a June 25 news release from the municipal government.
Fashioned from iron, the dagger is unique because it remained well preserved despite the passage of time.
It has a curved pommel, a straight blade and a groove that would have allowed for blood drainage, officials said.
It was dated to sometime between the third and second centuries B.C. — during the twilight of the Saka culture, a little-known community that once thrived in the steppes of central Asia.
The Saka culture, which prospered some 2,500 years ago, was made up of adept warriors and skilled craftspeople, according to the U.K.’s Fitzwilliam Museum.
“It has been proven that the Saka created truly unique jewellery masterpieces, using technological processes that were advanced for their time,” Daniyal Akhmetov, then-governor of the east Kazakhstan region and former prime minister, told the Guardian in 2021.
They were eventually replaced by the Huns and Sarmatians, officials said.
Additionally, found alongside the dagger were a series of burial mounds of different sizes.
It is believed that their sizes corresponded to the wealth or status of the deceased individuals entombed in them, officials said.
These mounds were a signature feature of the Saka culture, according to the Fitzwilliam Museum.
“They dominated their landscapes with huge burial mounds of ambitious construction, burying elite members of their society with their horses,” according to the museum.
Excavations at the park will continue, officials said.
Google Translate was used to translate a news release from the Karaganda Region government.
This story was originally published July 9, 2024 at 4:44 PM with the headline "Rare 2,000-year-old weapon linked to warrior people found in Kazakhstan, photos show."