On 6 July 2018, we embarked on the 6th Russian-Hungarian Ural Archaeological Expedition, organized by the Hungarian Department of Hungarian Prehistory and Occupation Archaeology at the Hungarian University of Natural Sciences, along with the Hungarian Prehistory Theme Group of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
This year, we began our journey once again in the Basque Country, a region that has played a key role in the archaeological study of early Hungarian history in several respects. It is believed that the ancestors of the Hungarians passed through this area during the 6th to 9th centuries AD (associated with the Kushnarenkovo and Karajakupovo archaeological cultures). After their migration, part of the remaining Hungarian population settled in this region from the 10th to 13th centuries AD.
In the spring of 2018, a significant discovery was made: a new Kushnarenkovo cemetery in the northern part of Bashkortostan, near the settlement of Bushtanayevo, on the northern border of this culture. This cemetery, consisting of around 40-42 kurgan burials, lies next to a well-known fortified settlement and cemetery of the Bakhmutyino culture in a wooded area, which has helped preserve many of the graves. While approximately 200 burials from the Kushnarenkovo culture are known, 80% of these have been disturbed over the years. The last time such finds were excavated systematically was in the early 1980s. Therefore, the discovery of intact graves with rich grave goods was of particular significance.
The excavation was also visited by Vladimir A. Ivanov, an expert on the period and an archaeologist from Ufa, who had published a monograph on the archaeological findings of Hungarian prehistory in 1999. He gave us an in-depth presentation on the latest research results from the region and provided valuable insights into future research tasks and directions.
On the final day of our trip to Bashkortostan, we visited the Ufa-2 archaeological park, home to one of the largest early medieval fortified settlements on the western side of the Urals. The site's excellent stratigraphy and imported finds are crucial for improving our understanding of the chronology and interrelations of local archaeological cultures.
Afterwards, we travelled by train, crossing the Ural Mountains to the western Siberian city of Tyumen. Here, we participated in a planning visit organized by archaeologists from Tyumen State University. The goal of the research was to clarify and better understand the medieval archaeological cultures of southwestern Siberia and their chronology. This visit provided an excellent opportunity to expand our knowledge, particularly in distinguishing the early medieval pottery types from Western Siberia.
Alongside the excavation, we attended master classes given by local experts and then shared our findings during a short joint conference. Our students did an outstanding job, and we are grateful for their hard work!
The archaeological legacy of the region, spanning from the 4th to 10th centuries AD, reveals a mix of nomadic peoples from the south, likely Turkic-speaking, and local inhabitants of the forest-steppe, as well as cultural influences from the southern Taiga, linked to the ancestors of the Uralic-speaking peoples.
As part of our cooperation agreement with Tyumen State University, we received archaeological bone samples from well-characterized cemeteries dating from the break-up of the Sargatka culture to the earliest late medieval appearances of the Ob Uyghur population. These samples will be analysed for palaeogenetic research to investigate the symbiosis of these diverse groups.
After Tyumen, we continued our journey north to Tobolsk, a city renowned in the study of Hungarian prehistory.
In the third and final leg of our expedition, we delved into the early medieval archaeological heritage of the Taiga region. We had the opportunity to study local early medieval artefacts housed in the museums of Tobolsk, Surgut, and Khanty-Mansiysk.
We would like to express our gratitude to Danyir Gajnullin, Gauhar Battalova, Natalia Matveyeva, Alexander Zelenkov, Anastasia Sleptsova, Alexander Adamov, Pyotr Staskin, and Oksana Belogay for their invaluable contributions.
Our heartfelt thanks also go to our sponsors, Ásatárs Ltd and Salisbury Archaeology Ltd, and to Mátyás Szöllősi for the excellent photos.
