reconnaissance in turkestan 277 



Tumuli (or Kurgans). 



The tumuli proper are accumulations of earth, of rounded gener- 

 ally symmetrical form, often more or less elliptical in horizontal 

 section. We met with them first along the base of the mountains 

 east of the Caspian, but I saw none at a lower elevation than 250 feet 

 above that sea. From this point eastward they abounded, with some 

 interruptions, as far as to near Andijan. Generally they were large — 

 100 to 200 feet long and 30 to 50 feet high. They are much more 

 abundant east of the Oxus than to the west. At one point I counted 

 fifteen in sight at once. Besides these larger tumuli, there are, espe- 

 cially along the Sirdaria in Fergana, localities with a great number of 

 small mounds a few yards only in diameter, suggesting burial after 

 battles. 



Mounds more or less resembling the larger ones are described by 

 De Morgan at points in northern Persia, and they occur through 

 southern Siberia and on the plains of southern Russia and of Hun- 

 gary. In all these countries they probably have different origins — 

 different reasons for their existence. Those in Siberia and on the 

 Black sea have been extensively excavated. 



There has been some unsatisfactory excavation of those in Turk- 

 estan, mostly with unrecorded results. The kurgan at Annan, near 

 Ashkabad, was trenched some years ago by General Komorof. 

 This afforded the best exposure of internal structure. It is nearly 

 200 feet long and 35 feet high and slightly elliptical in horizontal 

 section. It consists of fine, horizontally stratified layers of made 

 earth. Layers of silt and broken cobbles alternate with layers rich 

 in gray ashes and charcoal, and others of closely matted fragments 

 of pottery. Animal bones, teeth, and jaws, some of which are par- 

 tially calcined, occur frequently in all layers, with a few human 

 bones and skulls. Several whole vases and muffle shaped chests, 

 made of coarse pottery mixed with dung, had been cut by the 

 trench. These appeared to contain only fine ashes and charcoal. 

 Most of the fragmentary pottery is of this coarse, dung mixed qual- 

 ity, but there are also many fragments of finer texture, decorated 

 with sample designs of black on red, even at the bottom of the 

 trench. We found several granite stones with curved plane surface 

 which had evidently been shaped for mealing grain by the inetate 

 method, and also a roughly spherical stone that had been pierced, 

 apparently for the insertion of a handle and to use as a maul. Gen- 



