Tuesday, 11 February 2025
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The online edition of the Siberian Times reports on an extremely interesting find that archaeologists have made in the waters of Kyrgyz Lake Issyk-Kul. Scientists have found traces of the Saka settlement, some 2,500 years old!
As the scientists explain, the latest find is not related to other ancient finds made in the same lake in 2007. At that time, artefacts from roughly the same period and a Scythian barrow located underwater were also discovered.
Staff at the University of Tomsk who are conducting the research explain that the new location where the discovery was made was previously unknown. In the course of the archaeological work, nearly 200 ancient artefacts were found, which were left behind by a lost and forgotten culture.
A fragment of a large ceramic vessel found in the lake bears inscriptions most probably in Aramaic and Syriac. If further research confirms the archaeologists’ assumptions, it will also be significant evidence in support of the theory that a medieval Armenian monastery existed in this area.
A very intriguing piece of information is the conjecture of researchers that the investigated location may be the last resting place of one of the twelve apostles – St. Matthew. According to their opinion, it was in the above-mentioned monastery that the mortal remains of one of the disciples of Jesus Christ were to be found as relics.
Dmitry Gorn, the director of the diving club “Club SKAT TSU” from Tomsk, who led the diving teams, said that the found fragment of the ceramic vessel is truly unique – “Now experts will try to identify the inscriptions on it. If our assumptions are confirmed, it will prove that there was an Armenian monastery here in the 14th century, where the relics of St. Matthew were kept”.
The divers conducted their work in Tup Bay, located on the north-eastern shore of the lake. Issyk-Kul located at 1609 m above sea level is the 10th largest lake in the world and the 2nd largest salt lake after the Caspian Sea. Its area covers 6280 km² and its maximum depth is 702 m. The expedition, led by Dr Vladimir Ploskikh of the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University in Bishkek, conducted dives to a maximum depth of 23m.
“We managed to find a complete ceramic vessel belonging totheSaka-Usun culture. It was most likely used for religious purposes, as the find was made right next to burial sites,” – Dr Ploskikh said.
Source: siberiantimes.com
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