Kazakh Scientists Reconstruct Golden Horde Era Clothing

ASTANA – Scientists from the Umai International Laboratory for the Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage at the Margulan Institute of Archaeology took part in the reconstruction of a historical clothing found in the ruins of the mausoleum on the Talmas-Ata necropolis in the Karagandy Region dating back to the Golden Horde era, reported the Ministry of Science and Higher Education on Jan. 10.

Photo credit: egemen.kz.

According to the laboratory manager Tatyana Krupa, the archaeological relics found in the Talmas-Ata mausoleum are unique for the international archaeological community.

“Researchers associate the person found in the burial of this mausoleum with family relations with the Bolgan-Ana mausoleum. Chapan (a traditional gown) found there is stored in the laboratory, its conservation has been going on for several years. Last year, at international conferences held at the University of Warsaw (Poland) and the University of Copenhagen (Denmark), my reports were devoted to the study of Golden Horde artifacts on the territory of Kazakhstan and Ukraine. In particular, a separate report in Warsaw was devoted to the chapan found in the Bolgan-Ana mausoleum,” she said.

Another unique artifact found among the materials of the Talmas-Ata mausoleum were men’s boots, which became the starting point in creating an image of the person buried in the Talmas-Ata mausoleum.

Photo credit: Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Kazakhstan.

“The work to create an exact copy of ancient boots was carried out using techniques of that time, which we studied for this purpose. We plan to carry out conservation of them over time,” she said.

Everything in these boots has been preserved except the heel and sole. On the surviving parts one can see interesting decor, which is very similar to modern Kazakh ornaments. Krupa sees in this the continuity of both technology and clothing traditions of the Golden Horde with the Kazakh dress.


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