"ELITE" BURIAL COMPLEXES OF THE TURKIC TIME IN MONGOLIA: RESULTS AND PROSPECTS OF RESEARCH
The article considers the results of the study of «elite» burial complexes of the Turkic time excavated on the territory of Mongolia - Shoroon Dov (Shoroon Bumbagar-I) and Shoroon Bumbagar-П (Mayhan-uul) the sites. There is no doubt that the analysis of materials from the objects that do not have analogies in the archaeology of early medieval nomads is only beginning, and the interpretation of the data obtained is the subject of a separate work. At the same time, some aspects of the study of the complexes are already presented in the scientific literature. The first of the considered sites, Shoroon Dov (Shoroon Bumbagar-I), was excavated by the Russian-Mongolian expedition in 2009. A summary monograph and a series of articles by Russian and Mongolian archaeologists and specialists from the far abroad show the results of the analysis of the funeral constructions, the research of anthropomorphic microsculptures, the interpretation of the epitaph performed by Chinese characters, as well as possible determining of historical context of the mound. This information was used in 2011 during the excavations of the second “elite” complex - Shoron Bumbagar-П (Mayhan-uul). Over the years, considerable work has been done to study the materials of this site and some results have also been published. Most of the researchers dated these objects as the second half of the 7th century AD and associated them with periods of nomadic dependence on Tang China. Further expedition work as well as a detailed analysis of the already received materials will significantly expand the understanding the history of nomads' nobles in the Turkic period.