Tes phase
Hierarchy classification:
Anotations
Scope note:
Refers to the period of the Tagar phase where the kurgans vary considerably. There are large structures with monumental enclosures built of stone with walls a meter thick and 1 1/2 meters high. In the center is a large tomb consisting of an elaborate timber structure of two stories with a log roof, containing the remains of a several dozen bodies. All of the tombs have been set on fire, the structures charred and reduced to ash in most places. Other tombs have smaller enclosures of slabs set upright in the ground, either built up against one another or separated by a narrow gap and containing only a single tomb. Some tombs may be squeezed into the spaces between enclosures or between the main tomb and the enclosure wall. In both cases, the skulls of the deceased have been trepanned and covered with a coating of clay and painted.