Localization of Scytho-Siberian burial mounds by means of Corona satellite imagery, Kosh-Agatsh region, Altai Republic, Russia

A research team from Ghent University (Belgium) is, since 1995, executing archaeological research in the Altai Republic, Russia. Together with colleagues from the Gorno Altaisk State University, they are studying and documenting the archaeological heritage in the region, with a focus on the numerous Scythian burial mounds or kurgans, dating from the 8(th) to 2(nd) Century BCE (Iron Age). Many of these tombs are frozen, as they are located at high altitude and/or in local permafrost zones. The perfectly conserved grave inventory forms a unique documentation on this semi-nomadic steppe civilization. Recently, global change is endangering the subsistence of these frozen tombs. Problems of localization and the non-existence of adequate maps were solved by using stereoscopic images from the high-resolution CORONA espionage satellite, for the first time during the fieldwork of July-August 2003. The resulting contour maps, DTMs and orthophotos form the background for the archaeological inventory, and are together with the archaeological database the first detailed form of information on the cultural heritage in the region. The resulting information will be used in scientific research (the diachronically study of the archaeological sites in the landscape) and in heritage management, as the inventory is a first step in the possible protection of the endangered tombs. Parts of the Altai Mountains are inscribed as a Natural Heritage Site, and the Altai Mountains are subject of UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere program.

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