Abkhazia's archeologists open recently discovered lead sarcophagus
In Abkhazia, scientists opened 5th century lead sarcophagus. It was discovered by archaeologists during excavations in Ochamchira this summer. The remains found inside will be studied by scientists.
No objects were found inside the sarcophagus, except for the dust. However, scientists from the joint Russian-Abkhazian archaeological expedition, who were excavating the ancient settlement of Gunes, initially assumed that the contents of the sarcophagus would be very scarce.
“There is nothing inside the sarcophagus, for this burial belongs to the Christian period, when nothing was put into the sarcophagus, unless, of course, it was a woman. Apparently, the remains belong to a man”, says Alexander Skakov, an archeologist and deputy of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Due to the high humidity of the area, the remains were poorly preserved. In addition, this was facilitated by the very material from which the sarcophagus is made – lead does not contribute well to preservation.
The sarcophagus found near the temple in the ancient settlement of Guenos (the territory of the modern city of Ochamchira) dates back to the second half of the 5th century. This is the first lead sarcophagus of this period found in the Caucasus. In total, about 40 lead sarcophagi have been found in the world. Archaeologists have found similar sarcophagi in Turkey, England and France.
“This is a unique find not only for the territory of Abkhazia, but also for the entire Caucasus, the entire Northern and Eastern Black Sea regions. The most valuable thing here is not what is inside, but the object itself. I hope that after restoration it will take its proper place in the Abkhaz State Museum and it will be an exhibit that the museum can be proud of”, says Alexander Skakov.
Anthropologists will further study the contents of the sarcophagus. After the genetic examination, specialists will be able to tell in more detail about the person buried in the sarcophagus.
So far, scientists are inclined to believe that the found remains belong either to a man – a clergyman, or a nobleman.
The Gunes temple was discovered by the then young Abkhaz archaeologist, and now one of the veterans of Abkhaz politics, Sergei Shamba as a result of excavations carried out in 1980s.
According to his memoirs, at that time the Georgian archaeologists who were digging at this place did not dig further than the one and a half meter layer, since groundwater was running there, and the layers found fit into their concept of the existence of the Colchis kingdom.
Based on this concept, there could not be Greek colonies on this territory, but there could only be trading posts, which were opened in the 5th century.
“But then Abkhazian archaeologists managed to pump out groundwater, move deeper and open cultural layers right up to the 6th century BC. The temple opened in this place turned out to be one of the largest in the territory of Eastern Abkhazia”, says Sergei Shamba.
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