This article was downloaded by:[Bourgeois, Jean] On: 5 September 2007 Access Details: [subscription number 781833055] Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK World Archaeology Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t713699333 Saving the frozen Scythian tombs of the Altai Mountains (Central Asia) Online Publication Date: 01 September 2007 To cite this Article: Bourgeois, Jean, De Wulf, Alain, Goossens, Rudi and Gheyle, Wouter (2007) 'Saving the frozen Scythian tombs of the Altai Mountains (Central Asia)', World Archaeology, 39:3, 458 - 474 To link to this article: DOI: 10.1080/00438240701504585 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00438240701504585 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.informaworld.com/terms-and-conditions-of-access.pdf This article maybe used for research, teaching and private study purposes. 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The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material. © Taylor and Francis 2007 Downloaded By: [Bourgeois, Jean] At: 07:38 5 September 2007 Saving the frozen Scythian tombs of the Altai Mountains (Central Asia) Jean Bourgeois, Alain De Wulf, Rudi Goossens and Wouter Gheyle Abstract The frozen tombs of the Scythian civilization, preserved for over 2000 years in the permafrost of the Russian, Mongolian, Chinese and Kazakh Altai Mountains, are a major archaeological find dating back to the 1920s. Inside the tombs lie bodies which have often been so well preserved in the frozen ground that even the tattoos on their skin remain intact. Grave robbers and fortune hunters have been the tombs’ traditional enemies but, today, a new threat hangs over them. Climatic change is causing the permafrost in this part of Siberia to thaw. With the permafrost that preserves the kurgans now gradually thawing, the remaining frozen tombs and the insights they provide into the ancient nomad Scythian culture could be lost for ever, after 2000 years of perfect conservation. The University of Ghent (Belgium) and the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, together with local institutions in Russia and Kazakhstan, have started a project to preserve the remaining frozen tombs. Besides making an inventory of the archaeological heritage in several research areas in Russia and Kazakhstan, they are looking for ways to detect the tombs that are frozen, and are searching for technical solutions to preserve the frozen tombs in situ. Keywords Frozen tombs; Scythian; climatic change; permafrost; CORONA satellite imagery; archaeological survey; conservation. Introduction The Altai Mountains (Fig. 1) can without any doubt be considered as one of the major archaeological areas in the world. Scattered across the Altai Mountains straddling Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China one can find hundreds of tombs of different, mainly nomadic civilizations as well as ritual monuments and petroglyphs. They date from the Neolithic up to the Ethnographic period (from the fourth millennium BCE to the World Archaeology Vol. 39(3): 458–474 The Archaeology of World Heritage ª 2007 Taylor & Francis ISSN 0043-8243 print/1470-1375 online DOI: 10.1080/00438240701504585 Downloaded By: [Bourgeois, Jean] At: 07:38 5 September 2007 Saving the frozen Scythian tombs of the Altai Mountains 459 Figure 1 The central part of the Altai Mountains as seen from space by the LANDSAT satellite, with localization of the research areas within the survey project, from 2003 to 2006. Image: UGent. Downloaded By: [Bourgeois, Jean] At: 07:38 5 September 2007 460 Jean Bourgeois et al. eighteenth century AD). Of this range of sites, the tombs (or ‘kurgans’) of the Scythian civilization are probably the best known. In the first millennium BC, the Scythian culture was found in the Eurasian steppe from the borders of the Black Sea to the Yellow River (Parzinger 2006a). There are two sources of information about this mainly nomadic civilization. Among the written sources, we may mention especially the Greek historian Herodotus (fifth century BC), who devoted the fourth book of his Histories to the Scythians and their society. The second source is archaeological research. The interest in Scytho-Siberian art started during the reign of Peter the Great (1689–1725). However, since his collections focused on the Black Sea region, the Scythian archaeology of the Altai mountains remained largely unknown until the beginning of the twentieth century. In the period 1929–1949, the discovery of the frozen mummies of Pazyryk attracted world-wide interest, thanks to research by Gryaznov and Rudenko in Pazyryk, Tuekta and Bashadar (Gryaznov 1969; Rudenko 1970) (Figs 2 and 3). More recently, in the 1990s, research brought the fascinating world of the Scythian graves of the Altai Mountains back into the light, through the excavation of some frozen tombs on the plateau of Ukok in the South of the Altai Republic by the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk (Molodin 1996; Molodin and Polosmak 2000; Molodin et al. 2004; Polosmak 1991; Polosmak and Seifert 1996). Some ten years ago, excavation in northeastern Kazakhstan, in Berel, by the Margulan Institute of the Kazakh Academy of Sciences and CNRS France revealed at least two frozen tombs (Samashev et al. 2000; Kashkinbaev and Samashev 2005). Recently, a new frozen tomb was excavated in Mongolia by a team of German, Russian and Mongolian archaeologists (H. Parzinger, German Archaeological Institute, Berlin; V. I. Molodin, Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk; D. Tseveendorj, Institute of Archaeology of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Ulaanbaatar) (Parzinger 2006b). Figure 2 A view of a Scythian kurgan with the ice lens situated underneath the stone mound (kurgan 11 at the Berel’ site in the Kazakh Altai). Two-dimensional steady-state temperature field by Sergei Marchenko; the funerary pit geometry according to Samashev et al. (2001). Downloaded By: [Bourgeois, Jean] At: 07:38 5 September 2007 Saving the frozen Scythian tombs of the Altai Mountains 461 Figure 3 A three-dimensional reconstruction of a section of the tattoos that were found on the body of the man from the second kurgan of Pazyryk (Altai Republic, fifth to fourth century BCE). Reconstruction by Ivo Verhaeghe, UGent. Global warming Warming is now occurring over most of the globe and is consistent with the global retreat of mountain glaciers, reduction in snow-cover extent, the earlier spring melting of ice on rivers and lakes and increases in sea-surface temperatures and ocean heat content. The earth’s surface is currently warming at a rate of about 0.178C per decade or 1.88C per century and the top ten warmest years have all occurred since 1990 (NOAA 2005; NASA 2005). Climatic changes were reported recently from many regions of Central Asia. Air temperature in the Altai Mountains has increased at a higher rate than the global mean during the twentieth century (IPCC, II 2001). In the western Mongolian sector of the Altai Mountains, the rise in mean annual air temperature was 0.38C per decade over the last fifty years. Winter warming is strongly pronounced in high mountain areas and in intermountain valleys (0.68C per decade) of the Mongolian Altai and less detectable in the adjacent plains. Glacier research shows that the glaciers in the Altai Mountains are melting rapidly. Rough estimates showed that the glaciers lost up to 27 per cent of their mass in the last 100 years. Their average retreat rates are 9–20m per year. Further degradation of glaciers is most likely and significant reduction or disappearance of the permafrost is predicted for the middle of this century in the Altai Mountains. The most significant impacts will be observed near the lower boundary of alpine permafrost, where the frozen grounds are very sensitive to climate change (Marchenko 1999, 2006b). Many frozen tombs in Altai are situated within this area of sporadic and discontinuous permafrost, and are therefore extremely vulnerable. In these areas, the formation of Downloaded By: [Bourgeois, Jean] At: 07:38 5 September 2007 462 Jean Bourgeois et al. permafrost under a burial mound is partially due to the structure of the mound itself: although the surroundings have no traces of permafrost, the tombs are frozen due to the cooling influence of the stone mound on top of the burial (Fig. 2). Studies show that the temperatures inside the stone mound are typically 3–58C colder than the air temperature outside. World heritage The Scythian graves of the Altai Mountains are of major importance for humanity for several reasons. The Scythian-type cultures, inhabiting the vast Eurasian steppe zone, were influenced by all great civilizations that bordered the steppe. Their nomadic way of life brought them into contact with Greece, the Black Sea area, Mesopotamia, India and even with ancient China. The similarities between the different Scythian-type cultures make the frozen tombs of the Altai Mountains a very important source of information for all the cultures dominating the Eurasian steppe zone in the first millennium BCE. The tombs form one of the main sources of information for the archaeology of this huge region, covering parts of Europe and Asia. It is clear that these frozen tombs are of major importance for the international scientific community. Their grave goods offer a good representation of their material culture. Even more, the Scythian funeral practices described by Herodotus in the fifth century BCE find their material expression in the tombs of the Altai Mountains. There is an exceptional opportunity there to combine archaeology and history. The frozen context of the graves preserves all the tombs’ contents. This means that not only is the infrastructure of the grave perfectly conserved, but also all organic and inorganic materials that accompany the dead to the afterlife (Molodin and Polosmak 2000). These generally include textiles, wooden objects, bone, bronze, iron and gold objects, weaponry, fully harnessed horses and even food to survive the trip to the hereafter. The body of the deceased forms an even more important source of information, since it was mummified and comes to us in a perfect state of conservation, with clothing, head-dress and, in many cases, wonderful tattoos (Fig. 3) (Polosmak 2004). The conservation of organic material gives the scientist the opportunity to conduct forensic research and, with the possibilities of DNA research, even family ties can be examined. The exceptional conservation, combined with the rich heritage of the Scythians, makes these tombs extremely valuable for scientific research. The scientific community has, together with the international organizations, a responsibility to preserve these treasures of our past for future generations. UNESCO is interested in including the frozen Scythian tombs in the world Heritage List, and a part of the Russian Altai Mountains is already inscribed on UNESCO’s Natural World Heritage List (The Golden Mountains of Altai), briefly mentioning the archaeological monuments in the area (see http://whc.unesco.org/ en/list/768). Discussion has started about developing a transboundary reserve, including the natural and cultural heritage of the Altai Mountains in the four countries involved (Badenkov 2002). The still frozen tombs are situated in the upper part of the Altai Mountains, at an altitude from 1000 metres up to 2300 metres (Parzinger 2006b: 586–606). The severe Downloaded By: [Bourgeois, Jean] At: 07:38 5 September 2007 Saving the frozen Scythian tombs of the Altai Mountains 463 climate in these regions, with long, cold winters and short, warm summers, certainly prevents these tombs from thawing, especially those located in the higher valleys. However, many other frozen tombs are situated in a (geographically) discontinuous and very unstable permafrost context. A more general and less visible threat is undoubtedly the expansion of tourism in the area. More and more tourists from all over the world are visiting this part of Asia, as it is still natural and undisturbed. Mountain hiking, skiing, rafting, camping and even hunting are very popular. Thousands of tourists ‘invade’ the area every year, and it is obvious that, alongside the interesting economic potentialities of this, their presence constitutes a danger for the preservation of the archaeological heritage. There is no doubt that the UNESCO concern for this world heritage will have to take into account this economic factor. Moreover, in some cases, the area is also confronted with the threat of industrial expansion. The project to build a pipeline from Siberia to China through the plateau of Ukok, as announced by President V. Putin of Russia in March 2006, is probably the most obvious threat of this kind. A global UNESCO project Considering the importance of this archaeological heritage for our world and the threat caused by climatic change, a global and ambitious project ‘The Frozen Tombs of the Altai Mountains’ was set up and supported by the UNESCO, with a grant from the UNESCO/ Flanders Funds-in-Trust for a first, preliminary programme (2005–6) (see http:// www.archaeology.ugent.be/altai/). Such a project necessitates international cooperation. At different levels, cooperation with American, Belgian, Chinese, French, German, Kazakh, Mongolian and Russian colleagues was set up. The objectives of the project are: . an inventory of the frozen tombs; . examination of the evolution of permafrost conditions to indicate which tombs are likely to defrost within the next decades; . finding solutions for the preservation of permafrost in these cases; . as a last step, tombs that are thawing and cannot be saved should be excavated. The first problem is the mapping. For the purpose of inventory, accurate maps are needed to locate all archaeological structures precisely. These maps do not exist for all of the research area. Taking into account the surface of the research area, the high costs of topographic measurements and the non-existence of a total coverage with aerial photographs, the mapping is being executed with the help of existing satellite images (CORONA, ASTER, QuickBird). With the resulting maps as background, all the known information about archaeological sites and frozen tombs is centralized and mapped. Survey campaigns are set up to complete this image. The survey of such a large research area is a huge task, but it is an indispensable aspect of the project. The work can, however, be divided between different partners, and recent campaigns have shown that it is possible to survey large areas. Downloaded By: [Bourgeois, Jean] At: 07:38 5 September 2007 464 Jean Bourgeois et al. We also have to think of techniques to detect frozen tombs. There is already great experience in geophysical prospecting methods for small-scale survey (e.g. Gorbunov et al. 2004). On a larger scale, we should be able to map the permafrost of the Altai Mountains, with specialized geocryological techniques. Localized frozen graves will then be monitored for changes in the condition of the permafrost, preferably over several years. The results of this research will indicate which tombs are endangered. Geophysical research enables us to detect and evaluate ice lenses under kurgans. If the consequences of global change are detectable in the kurgans, methods should be developed to preserve the graves in their frozen condition. It is obvious that we will not be able to apply these methods and technologies to all the frozen tombs. A well considered selection will most likely have to be made. Finally there is the issue of what to do with the tombs that cannot be saved from thawing. If excavation is the only solution, it will be necessary to work with different groups of experts, using the latest techniques and equipment. Much attention should also be paid to the conservation and restoration of the finds, and to their final destination. In the case of excavations, we also have to take into account the attitude of the local population towards the graves of their ancestors. The UNESCO/Flanders Funds-in-Trust campaigns As mentioned above, a first introductory project was financed for the years 2005–6 by the UNESCO/Flanders Funds-in-Trust. This part of the global project consisted mainly of the organization of two field campaigns and of two workshops. The first campaign of fieldwork within the UNESCO project was realized in the summer of 2005, in cooperation with the Gorno-Altaisk State University (Fig. 1). The team consisted of twenty Russian, Belgian, Dutch and French archaeologists and geographers. The chosen area of research was a high valley in the southern part of the Russian Altai Mountains just north of the Ukok plateau: the Dzhazator valley. This area was selected for various reasons. First, the valley is located between the area where the Belgian-Russian team worked in previous years (Bourgeois et al. 1999a, 1999b) and the area where the team of the Russian Academy was active (Molodin et al. 2004); second, the area is known as a rich area for archaeological structures; third and finally, the higher parts of the valley go up to more than 2000m altitude, which is clearly an altitude where frozen conditions can be expected. In 2006, the team chose the Yustyd Valley (Russian Federation) and the Kazakh Altai as research areas, in collaboration with the Gorno-Altaisk State University and the Margulan Institute of Archaeology. In Yustyd, the team finished the inventory of a survey that had been initiated in 2004 (Fig. 4). In Kazakhstan, three different valleys were surveyed, all in the district where the well-known archaeological site of Berel is situated. The team of archaeologists and geographers worked in the higher part of the Kara-Kaba valley, the higher part of the Bukhtarma valley and in the Berel area of the same valley. Both campaigns allowed us to test and improve the survey and mapping standards set out during previous campaigns organized by the Ghent University in 2003 and 2004. Downloaded By: [Bourgeois, Jean] At: 07:38 5 September 2007 Saving the frozen Scythian tombs of the Altai Mountains 465 Figure 4 Orthophoto and topographical map with 10m contour lines of the Yustyd valley, based on CORONA-imagery (Altai Republic). The archaeological site plans are made afterwards: the large squares and circles are ritual monuments called kereksurs, (probably) dating from the Bronze Age, surrounded by small ritual circular stone settings. The smaller squares represent Turkic monuments and the points represent standing stones (balbals or steles). Downloaded By: [Bourgeois, Jean] At: 07:38 5 September 2007 466 Jean Bourgeois et al. Standards for mapping and surveying The organization of these two large-scale field expeditions and of two follow-up workshops in Gorno-Altaisk (March 2006) and in Ghent (December 2006) allowed us to put forward some standards and general agreements on the way the further project should be designed. For the field-work, we focused on the problems of mapping and surveying and tried to define standards. For the purpose of inventory, accurate maps are needed to locate all archaeological structures precisely. For reasons mentioned above, we decided to use CORONA images as a basis for the production of maps. This is not the place to discuss the CORONA images, the basic advantage they have being that these American intelligence images cover a major part of the Altai area and are cheap and useful images to produce topographical maps as a basis for landscape analysis of the archaeological monuments in the area (Gheyle et al. 2005, 2006). During four campaigns from 2003 to 2006, a joint team from Ghent University and the Gorno-Altai State University surveyed several valleys in the Russian part of the Altai Mountains and one (2006) in the Kazakh part. Different sets of topographical devices were tested and allowed us to improve the inventory of the archaeological monuments. From a general point of view, three constraints were important: 1. For general orientation in the field, there is a need of accuracy better than 10m. 2. In order to georeference the satellite images and to produce detailed topographic maps, the ground control points must be defined with great precision. In the case of the CORONA images, with a ground resolution of 1.8 or 2.7m (CORONA KH-4B and KH-4A respectively), a precision in X, Y and Z co-ordinates of less than 1m is necessary. For the sake of direct control, a device with real-time positioning results is preferable. 3. Finally, there is the actual archaeological survey. For the localization of each site, a precision of 1 or 2m in X, Y and Z co-ordinates is sufficient. But for the localization of areas within a single site, greater precision is needed: in order to produce reliable plans, the individual monuments have to be measured with an accuracy of less than 0.5m. General orientation The general localization of the archaeological sites was realized with the use of Garmin Etrex Vista devices, which are cheap, trustworthy and give information in real time. Their precision of some 15m in X and Y co-ordinates is obviously not sufficient for measuring ground control points and for generating detailed plans of the archaeological sites. Measuring ground control points For measuring the ground control points (GCP) necessary to produce georeferenced orthophoto images based on the CORONA images, we experimented with different systems throughout the years, going from cheaper self-devised systems, which needed Downloaded By: [Bourgeois, Jean] At: 07:38 5 September 2007 Saving the frozen Scythian tombs of the Altai Mountains 467 post-processing, to more commercial GPS receivers that deliver positioning in real time (Goossens et al. 2006a). Currently, we use a C-Nav 2050 differential GPS, and it has proved to be a reliable device. It provides a worldwide horizontal accuracy of 0.1m, as the reference signal is available almost everywhere in the world from 728 N to 728 S latitude. There is no need for a reference station and the C-Nav gives real-time positioning. The identification of the GCPs is not an easy task, as we are working with thirty-five-yearold satellite images and the research area does not have a lot of roads, houses or other humanmade identifiable objects. In most cases we were obliged to look for elements in the landscape, such as outcrops, borders of terraces or tracks. One reliable element, though, was the location of farms: as their roofs were covered by a kind of concrete plate, they were clearly marked as white rectangular dots in the middle of a dark patch of animal dirt. Most of these farms were abandoned or even completely destroyed, but the corners of the buildings were still identifiable. Unfortunately, these farms are not present in the whole area. The data of each campaign were processed with VirtuoZo in order to produce topographic maps up to a scale of 1/25,000 and 3D-models of the research area, by using both the forward and afterward image of the CORONA satellite (for more details about the methodology, see Goossens et al. 2006a). Surveying the archaeological monuments As mentioned, we need a planimetric precision of 1m for the sites as a whole and less than 0.5m for the localization of the individual archaeological monuments. During the campaigns of 2003 and 2004, we worked with the GPS with external antenna and with decameters and goniometers to localize the individual sites. This quite primitive and timeconsuming method produced reliable plans. However, from 2005 on, we started to use a Leica SR-20 receiver, using a reference station in the field to get a differential positioning. With this device, it was possible to work faster and in a more reliable way (Fig. 5). One gets stand-alone positioning results in real time, but simple processing with the Leica GeoOffice software gives a more precise, differential positioning result. It should be emphasized that all structures are recorded, from huge kereksurs and kurgans to small stone circles or even structures with unidentified functions. All periods are covered. We are convinced that the necessary selection of the burial mounds to be preserved from thawing has to be made within a global analysis of the landscape, with full consideration of the complete archaeological heritage of the area. Only a holistic approach to these landscapes will give reliable results. The chronological attribution of the monuments, as well as their probable function, is mainly based on their formal characteristics and on literature (Plate 1). At this moment, no specific excavation has been carried out in order to produce internal chronology. A GIS-related archaeological database All descriptions, photographs and measurements are recorded in a database. The ALTARI-database is written in Access and covers three levels of information (the site level, the cemetery level, settlement or petroglyph site and the level of the Jean Bourgeois et al. Downloaded By: [Bourgeois, Jean] At: 07:38 5 September 2007 468 Figure 5 Leica SR-20 measurements (top) form the basis for the detailed plans of the sites (bottom) in the Bukhtarma Valley (Kazakh Altai, fieldwork 2006). The site here combines Scythian kurgans (circles), Turkic monuments (squares), Hunno-Sarmatian graves (small ovals) and standing stones (dots). individual structure). Images and plans are available in a direct live link. Finally, the database is linked in an ArcView GIS or ArcMap project to the produced maps, DTMs, and other products from the satellite images. Downloaded By: [Bourgeois, Jean] At: 07:38 5 September 2007 Saving the frozen Scythian tombs of the Altai Mountains 469 Plate 1 Yustyd valley. The Scythian kurgans (foreground) are generally placed in a N–S oriented line, with a smaller circular stone setting in the west and some steles in the east. In the background, just to the right of the white yurt, one can see some rectangular Bronze Age kereksurs (ritual monuments). Image: UGent. In this way, some 8770 monuments were documented during the four field expeditions (2003–6). If one includes the survey work from the years 1996 to 1999 in Sebystei, Kalanegir and Ujmont, we have information on over 9100 monuments, spread over more than 870 ‘sites’ or clusters of monuments. The precise definition of what could be considered as a site is complex, and was hampered by the high density of structures in some of the areas. It is here considered only as a useful way to record ‘places of archaeological interest’ during the survey. We will have to reconsider the divisions we made in the field by analysing the database and the resulting plans. All this information was gathered not only in order to start up conservation processes or heritage management; it is also the subject of scientific research. The database and maps make it possible to study the archaeological landscape as a whole. Where did the population of a certain culture prefer to construct their burial sites or individual graves? In what part of the landscape are the ritual monuments located? We can reconstruct the archaeological landscapes from the different chronological and cultural subdivisions, and analyse to what extent the successive populations or cultures reused the setting of older burial or ritual sites, or, on the contrary, avoided these locations. This forms a completely new way of looking at the archaeology in the area, as previous research was mainly limited to excavations of single sites or even single monuments within one site. In recent decades, the concept of studying the archaeological landscape has developed quickly, and this is rightly considered to be an important part of archaeological research. Some examples of important survey projects are the Ukok archaeological survey by the Russian Academy of Sciences (limited to the Ukok plateau; see Molodin Downloaded By: [Bourgeois, Jean] At: 07:38 5 September 2007 470 Jean Bourgeois et al. et al. 2004) and the Mongolian Altai Inventory, led by the University of Oregon (in the Mongolian Altai, initially focusing on petroglyphs, but now taking into consideration the whole archaeological landscape; see Jacobson et al. 2001). Detection of the frozen tombs Next to the survey, there is the problem of the detection of the frozen tombs. On a larger scale, we need to be able to map the permafrost of the Altai Mountains and its past and future evolution, in order to contextualize the frozen tombs. First preliminary research in this field was realized by Ghent University (based on field measurements and augerings and on ASTER imagery; see Goossens et al. 2006b), by Dr S. Marchenko from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks (round-year ground temperature monitoring with temperature data loggers in the Ulandryk Valley) and by Prof. dr E. V. Severskii from the Russian Academy of Sciences in Almaty (augerings and temperature measurements in the Karakaba Valley, Kazakh Altai). It was not possible within the first part of the UNESCO global project to undertake any serious attempt to detect individual frozen kurgans, but there is already great experience in geophysical prospecting methods for small-scale survey in archaeological zones. Obviously, this part of the global project has to be developed in the immediate future. The experience of the German Institute of Archaeology (as shown in Mongolia) is of prime importance in this field. Localized potential frozen graves should then be monitored for the condition of the permafrost, preferably over some years. Preservation of the selected frozen tombs If the consequences of global change are detectable in individual tombs, methods have to be considered to preserve the graves in their frozen condition. The search for technical solutions to preserve the ice lens in situ has already been started and different methods of frozen ground preservation and prevention of permafrost degradation are being studied (Marchenko 2006a). The height and thickness of the coarse debris (the stone burial mound) is a determining factor for the formation and preservation of an ice lens. So, the easiest way to protect the frozen core of a tomb could be enlarging the stone cover. From a heritage point of view, this is, of course, not an applicable solution. A second possibility is to protect the kurgan from rainfall, sunlight and snowfall, by shading the burial mound. This method decreases the ground temperature by 3 to 78C (Zhang Luxin and Liu Jiankun 1998). Here also, the visual impact on the natural landscape is great and therefore we should maybe focus on a third solution, which could be to install self-regulating seasonally acting cooling devices or thermosyphons (Fig. 6). They act like refrigerators, but without needing an external power source. By extracting heat from the ground and dissipating it into the air, they lower the ground temperature and prevent the degradation of permafrost (Haynes and Zarling 1988). Obviously, there is still more research to be done here. There is no doubt that other techniques and methods will be designed in the future. All these 471 Downloaded By: [Bourgeois, Jean] At: 07:38 5 September 2007 Saving the frozen Scythian tombs of the Altai Mountains Figure 6 Suggested position of thermosyphons to protect the frozen core of a Scythian kurgan from thawing. Image by Sergei Marchenko (2006a). techniques should, of course, consider the problems of sustainability and of respect for the landscape. It is evident that we will not be able to apply these methods and technologies to all the frozen tombs in the region. A well-balanced selection will most likely have to be made. There is no doubt that the selection of the tombs will take into consideration the totality of the archaeological heritage in the area and the distribution of the monuments (geographically as well as chronologically or socially). Finally decisions have to be made about the tombs that cannot be saved from thawing. As stated in the Ghent Declaration, adopted during the second meeting of the UNESCO Frozen Tombs of the Altai Mountains project, all activities related to survey and excavation on the archaeological sites, including frozen tombs, should be carried out according to the highest professional and internationally recognized ethical standards, such as the UNESCO recommendation on International Principles Applicable to Archaeological Excavations (5http://www.icomos.org/unesco/delhi56.html4) and the International ICOMOS Charter for the Archaeological Heritage 1990 (5http://www. international.icomos.org/e_archae.htm4), and with respect and consideration for local communities, as well as for environmental integrity. Also much attention should then be paid to the conservation and restoration of the finds, and to their final destination. In the case of excavations, we should also take into account the attitude of the local population towards the graves of their ancestors, and come to compromises. Downloaded By: [Bourgeois, Jean] At: 07:38 5 September 2007 472 Jean Bourgeois et al. Conclusions The similarities between the different Scythian type cultures make the frozen tombs of the Altai Mountains a very important source of information for all the cultures dominating the Eurasian steppe zone in the first millennium BC. They form one of the main sources of information for the archaeology of this huge region, covering parts of Europe and Asia, from the Danube and the Black Sea to Manchuria. It is clear that these frozen tombs are of major importance for the international scientific community and for mankind. The countries concerned by this heritage (China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Russia) are also the most interested. The geographical context of the graves, the Altai Mountains themselves, is part of our world heritage. But the archaeological heritage remains unprotected. Nominating and inscribing the monuments on the World Heritage List will change this, and make protection possible. Furthermore, listing the monuments will make it possible to include them in the important Transboundary Biosphere Reserve, an idea that has been developing since 1998 and is in full process. Acknowledgements This project was made possible thanks to funding by the Research Fund of Ghent University (2003–4), by the Federal Science Policy of Belgium (2004), by the Flemish/ UNESCO Fund-in-Trust (2005–6) and by the Flemish-Russian Bilateral Agreements (2006–7). Jean Bourgeois and Wouter Gheyle Department of Archaeology and Ancient History of Europe, Ghent University Alain De Wulf and Rudi Goossens Department of Geography, Ghent University References Badenkov, Y. P. 2002. Altai Mountain knot: between conservation and development – syndromes of globalisation. 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Numerical investigation of experimental roadbed thermal stability on Fenghuoshan permafrost in Tibet. In Proceedings of the International Symposium on Geocryological Problems of Construction in Eastern Russia and Northern China, Vol. 2. Yakutsk: SB RAS Publishers. Jean Bourgeois has been professor at Ghent University since 1991. His main interest is in the Western European Bronze and Iron Age, focusing on aerial survey. Since 1995, he has also been active in the field of Eurasian archaeology, and he leads several projects on the archaeology of the Altai Mountains and the nomadic cultures of the Eurasian steppes. Alain De Wulf has been professor in the Department of Geography at Ghent University since 1995. He mainly works on surveying engineering, satellite positioning systems and bathymetry. His main interest is the analysis of the accuracy of positioning systems and of the data processing performed, including digital terrain modelling. Rudi Goossens has been professor at Ghent University since 1998. His main interest is in remote sensing and photogrammetry, and he leads projects involving the study of land degradation, coral reefs and DEM creation by aims of photogrammetry. He is currently president of the European Association of Remote Sensing Laboratories. Wouter Gheyle has been working as a scientific researcher at Ghent University since 2003. His main interest is in the archaeology of the nomadic cultures of the Eurasian steppes, with a focus on the Altai Mountains. He is currently preparing a PhD on the diachronic organization of archaeological monuments in the landscape of the Altai Mountains.