Chinese archaeologists, conducting excavations in the Nilka district, discovered a large tomb among the mountain ranges, near the river.

Nilka County is located in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, near the Sino-Kazakhstan border. The site of the find is part of the Jirentai Goukou archaeological site and many archaeologists believe that this is where skiing originated.

For thousands of years, the tomb remained intact, so it preserved its treasures under the earth and stones. The excavations were carried out by the Institute of Archeology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, it was they who announced the find less than a month ago.

The discovered ruins are divided into two parts. In one of them, experts saw a residential area. Another sector had a large stone platform. "The tomb platform is one of the best-preserved Bronze Age tombs in Xinjiang and possibly the Eurasian steppe," says the archaeologist.

Scientists date the finds to 3600 years. At that time, these lands were inhabited by the people of the Andronov culture, herders who herded cattle on these territories. So, in their opinion, this is the tomb of an important family, and thanks to the excavation, there is an opportunity to learn about the nuances of their rituals, beliefs and social structures.

An interesting and at the same time unique element among the objects found were skates made of rare material such as horse bones and yellow bull. The front part of the skates is pointed, the back is blunt. Double holes on both sides. The "blade" is very flat, but it made a cutting edge that allowed a person to slide on the ice.

"These skates are the oldest ever found in China"

«The recently discovered skates are almost the same as skates from prehistoric Europe, which can be interpreted as new evidence for the theoretical exchange of information between ancient people. west and east in the Bronze Age. It is also a rare physical material for studying the origin of skating in China.» said Ruan Qirong, an archaeologist at the Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology.

At the end of last year, the Museum of London showed a photo of a medieval skate with leather laces, which was also made of bones. This allows for the development of research on the ancient exchange of technologies between the west and the east of Eurasia.