8 August 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

3,000-year-old ‘charioteer belt’ discovered in Siberia

Russian archaeologists uncovered the grave of a Late Bronze Age man buried wearing a “charioteer’s belt”, a flat bronze plate with two curved hooks at the end reminiscent of a yoke used to harness draft animals, during a rescue archaeology excavation at the railway expansion site in the Askizsky region of Khakassia, in Southern Siberia.

This tool is thought to have been used by charioteers to cinch their reins to their waists, freeing up their hands for battle. This type of artifact has also been found in Chinese and Mongolian graves.

The tomb is dated to between the 11th and the 8th century B.C., a time when the Lugav culture was dominant in the area. Archaeologists and historians didn’t believe chariots were being used in this part of Asia that long ago.

Aleksey Timoshchenko, an archaeologist at the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Live Science in an email that the object was found in its original placement at the waist of the person in the undisturbed grave.

This device was actually designed to be attached to a charioteer’s belt.  The charioteer could rest their hands while controlling the horses pulling the chariot by wrapping the reins around the belt. This was an item of convenience for a charioteer and its telltale appearance leaves no question as to the identity of the deceased person who was buried with it.

The burial includes a distinctive hooked piece of bronze, probably once fixed to a belt around the waist, which is for drivers of horse-drawn chariots to tie the reins and free their hands. Photo: IAET SB RAS

The charioteer’s tomb is a square masonry tomb with an earthen mound built on top of it. The deceased was buried with a bronze knife, bronze jewelry, including a necklace with rectangular pendants typical of Lugav culture, and a belt.

This type of artifact has previously been discovered at other archaeological sites in Russian territory. However, the object’s shape was so unusual that archaeologists initially had no idea what it was used for.

“For a long time in Russian archaeology, this was called a PNN — an ‘item of unknown purpose,’” Novosibirsk State University archaeologist and Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology consultant Oleg Mitko told Live Science.

In recent years, archaeologists working in Mongolia and China have unearthed the tombs of multiple Bronze Age charioteers, along with their buried horses and chariots. The metal rods were there inside the tombs as well, making it clear that they were an accessory used by chariot drivers in ancient times.

The site under excavation contains material remains of a cemetery as well as a settlement from this period, and the Lugav barrows in the cemetery can be grouped into three stages — the transition to the Lugav culture, the Lugav middle stage, and the late stage, when characteristics from the next culture (Tagar) appear mingled with the Lugav features. The charioteer’s tomb is from the middle stage.

Cover Photo:  IAET SB RAS 

Related Articles

Archaeologists uncovered a ‘golden tomb’ during excavations in Armenia

26 March 2023

26 March 2023

A team of archaeologists made up of Polish and Armenian scientists has discovered a “golden tomb” containing two skeletons in...

Newly Discovered Tiwanaku Temple in Bolivia Sheds Light on Mysterious Ancient Civilization

25 June 2025

25 June 2025

Tiwanaku Temple Ruins in the Andes Reveal Vital Clues About a Powerful Pre-Incan Society’s Religious and Trade Networks Archaeologists have...

6,000-Year-Old Temple with Blood Channel and Altar Unearthed in Eastern Türkiye

15 July 2025

15 July 2025

Archaeologists have discovered a 6,000-year-old temple site during ongoing excavations in the village of Tadım, located in Elazığ Province, eastern...

3,000-year-old weavings discovered in Alaska’s Alutiiq settlement

3 September 2023

3 September 2023

Archaeologists have uncovered fragments of woven grass artifacts estimated to be 3,000 years old during excavations at an ancestral sod...

Burials covered in red dye discovered in Serbian barrows

18 February 2022

18 February 2022

Polish archaeologists excavating two barrow mounds in Vojvodina, in the northern part of the Republic of Serbia, have uncovered the...

Ancient Funerary Stones Looted from Yemen Will Be Exhibited at the Victoria & Albert Museum

14 September 2023

14 September 2023

The Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) has signed a historic agreement with the Yemeni government to temporarily keep and display...

Egypt dig unearths 41 mln-year-old Whale in desert -Tutcetus rayanensis-

12 August 2023

12 August 2023

Paleontologists in Egypt announced the discovery of a new species of extinct whale that inhabited the sea covering present-day Egypt...

Archaeologists Uncover Unique 6th Century Mosaic in Abandoned Byzantine Monastery

9 April 2025

9 April 2025

A recent excavation report from the Israel Antiquities Authority has revealed the discovery of a well-preserved Byzantine-period monastery and farmhouse...

Evil-Wisher Well: Ancient curse tablets 2,500-year-old found in a well in Athens

14 July 2022

14 July 2022

30 ancient curse tablets were found at the bottom of a 2500-year-old well in ancient Athens. In 2020, Archaeologists from...

Remains of a 5-year-old girl found under Real Alcázar in Spain

9 May 2021

9 May 2021

The body of a five-year-old fair-haired girl who lived in the late Middle Ages and was most likely of noble...

3500-year-old menhir discovered in Mahbubabad, India

15 March 2022

15 March 2022

Six feet in height stone, also called a menhir, was found on the roadside of Ellarigudem, a hamlet of Beechrajupally...

2,000-Year-Old Garlanded Sarcophagus Unearthed in City of Gladiators

2 May 2025

2 May 2025

A remarkably well-preserved, 2,000-year-old sarcophagus adorned with intricate garlands has been discovered during ongoing excavations in the ancient city of...

Secrets of the Ancient Walls: 1,700-Year-Old Roman Altar Unearthed at Vuçak Castle in Kosovo

19 April 2025

19 April 2025

Excavations at Vuçak Castle in the Kosovo countryside have led to a remarkable discovery: a Roman altar dating back to...

A rare Roman cornu mouthpiece found at Vindolanda

23 September 2022

23 September 2022

Just south of Hadrian’s Wall, archaeologists have discovered an extremely rare Roman cornu mouthpiece beneath the remains of the ancient...

9,200-year-old Noongar habitation discovered at Augusta archaeological dig site

28 July 2021

28 July 2021

An archaeological dig in Augusta, in West Australia‘s South West, has uncovered evidence of Noongar habitation dating back an estimated...