Zoroastrian Funerary Vessels from South Kazakhstan

Abstract

The paper describes two ceramic funerary vessels from Southern Kazakhstan. The first one is an oval elongated ossuary (solid, with no lid or ornamentation, on legs), discovered in the middle reaches of the Arys river. The second vessel is a khum with a lid and special lugs on the body for tying the lid, discovered near Shymkent settlement, possibly on its Early Medieval necropolis. This vessel is exhibited in the Museum of Local Lore of Shymkent.These unique findings are associated to the Zoroastrian/Mazdean burial technique of the Middle Syr Darya region. According to scientific information, since the 5th century AD the catacomb burial rite was replaced with the Naous rite across the entire right bank of the Syr Darya. This rite consisted in subsequent final burial of bone remains in ceramic vessels or other containers, or without them, in dedicated locations of the landscape, not associated with the active life of society. The discovery of the ossuary and funerary khum is extremely important for the reconstruction of the local version of the Zoroastrian funerary rite of the region practiced in the 5th – 8th centuries AD.

Keywords

• archaeology
• ossuary
• khum – bone depository
• naus
• southern kazakhstan
• arys river valley