3D-MODELLING OF THE BURIAL MOUND WITH A STONE BOX OF THE EARLY IRON AGE IN THE ALTAI MOUNTAINS

Abstract

In the 2nd half of the II millennium BC burials in stone boxes are the most typical for the Kara-Koba archeological culture which was spread throughout the Altai Mountains. This group of the population lived in the period of the Pazyryk archeological culture (V-II centuries BC), which had its own specific features of the spiritual culture reflected in the funeral ceremony. There is a view that the presence of the Kara-Koba type of burials is the result of the conservation of local indigenous groups (descendants of the kuyums) subject to the influence of the foreign population. Later in the Hun-Sarmatian period (the end of I millennium BC - Early I millennium BC) burials in stone boxes are a typical feature of the Bulan-Koba archaeological culture. Overall, therefore, the territory of the Altai Mountains as a part of Central Asia is characterized by the existence of discrete traditions of stone boxes burials prevailing during the sufficiently long period of the Paleometal Age. The lower Katun mountain valley is one of the northern frontiers of the stone boxes burials tradition. As part of the necropolis of the Early Iron Age, Chultukov Log-1 revealed several dozen of undisturbed burials in stone boxes. According to their design features, a stone box is a complex architectural design that cannon be fully be recorded and reflected by the traditional modern archeology means - graphic drawings and photographs. Given this limitation of the traditional means of documentation of archaeological excavations, the most promising is a multimedia visualization (rendering). Rendering of the ancient stone boxes has not only of a source, but also of a museum value for an adequate visualization of archaeological sites as a part of historical and cultural heritage.