Sino-Russian archaeologists complete 2026 fieldwork in Russia's Altai region

(ECNS) -- A joint Chinese-Russian archaeological team has completed its excavation and survey work in Russia's Altai region, the Collaborative Research Centre for Archaeology of the Silk Roads announced on Wednesday.

 

The team brought together more than 30 faculty members and students from the two countries. The Chinese team was led by Professor Shao Huiqiu of the Collaborative Research Centre for Archaeology of the Silk Roads, with Lecturer Mu Jinshan serving as executive leader. The Russian team was co-led by Professor Dashkovsky and Professor Frolov of Altai State University (AltSU).

During the nearly month-long excavation, the joint team systematically excavated seven burial mounds at the Chileta-1 and Chileta-2 cemeteries, employing RTK surveying, drone aerial photography and 3D modeling technologies.

Six of the burial mounds at Chileta-1 date mainly to the Pazyryk culture (5th–3rd centuries BCE). The site also includes a Kara-Kobin-type stone cist burial and a separate ritual mound. M38 at Chileta-2 belongs to the Srostkin culture of the mid-8th century CE. A number of significant artifacts were unearthed, providing important evidence for the study of social hierarchy and development reflected in early Iron Age burials in Russia's Altai region.

Following the excavation, the joint team shifted its focus to targeted surveys. The team conducted a comprehensive survey of the distribution patterns and structural characteristics of Bulan-Koba culture burials across different parts of the Altai region, further clarifying the region's cultural landscape during the Xiongnu, Xianbei and Rouran periods.

The team also applied to the Altai region a theory of nomadic settlement distribution developed in China's eastern Tianshan region — the "trinity of dwelling remains, burial grounds and rock art" — to guide surveys aimed at locating nomadic settlements. The theory received preliminary validation during the survey and helped guide the discovery of one settlement site, one large-scale rock art site and one fortress site, marking a significant breakthrough in the study of nomadic settlements in the Altai region.

This year's fieldwork continues Sino-Russian archaeological cooperation in the Altai region and marks the first field operation since the establishment of the Altai branch of the Collaborative Research Centre for Archaeology of the Silk Roads.

The two sides will continue to prioritize both surveys and excavations, with a focus on major themes such as nomadic economies and civilizations. They also plan to reconstruct the region's ancient environment, subsistence patterns and population characteristics through archaeological science, while further refining the regional archaeological cultural sequence from the perspectives of both settlements and burials.

Within a long-term and broad spatial framework, the two sides aim to deepen research into exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, clarify the close connections between the Russian Altai and ancient China, and further expand Sino-Russian archaeological cooperation in both scope and depth.

(By Tang Yuxian)