Museums of the RSE «Gylym Ordasy» of SC MES RK are among unique museums which by right are a pride of our country.
The building hosting the Museum of Nature, Museum of Archeology, Museum of Rear Books and Museum of History of Kazakhstan’s science is a historical heritage itself.
The Museum of Archeology gives a unique opportunity to touch the history of the past and see the evidence of ancient period. It was founded in 1973 at the Institute of History, Archeology and Ethnography. Its first exhibits were numerous finds of metal, glass, ceramics and bones such as weapons, tools, household items and jewelry, including made of gold and silver, gained from research of archaeological monuments — ancient villages, towns and mounds.
This year the museum celebrates its 40th anniversary. Over the past three years it faced great changes in the main areas of activity, including processing, storage and restoration of exhibits, completion of funds and organization of expositions.
Today more than 4000 values, many of which are over 2,000 years old, are concentrated in this treasure.
Artifacts of archeological cultures and monuments of Paleolithic, Bronze, Early Iron and Middle Ages are among them. Each epoch is represented in a separate hall. Going from one hall to another, visitor follows the footsteps of their ancestors, becoming a witness to the life of mankind in different ages, clearly feeling the verge of their contacts.
Copy of the Golden Man discovered during excavations of Issyk barrow is a pride of the museum. Full safety of Issyk burial provided researchers a rare opportunity to restore not only the rite, but also to reconstruct the shape of the headgear, clothing, shoes, jewelry location on them and the method of their mounting, define the cut of clothes and its approximate size. The copy celebrates the 40th anniversary of its creation, and today it occupies a central place in the Hall of the Early Iron Age.
The model of the Besshatyr burial is exhibited near. It consists of 31mounds of different sizes. Interesting fact is barrow’s size depended on person’s position in society during his or her life.
At the same hall visitors could admire famous reconstruction of Berel horse and funeral camera of royal burial place in Berel barrow № 11 where remained in lens of permafrost 13 riding horses in full decoration accompanied Berel chief were discovered.
Museum also offers to evaluate the beauty and uniqueness of outstanding buildings of medieval Kazakhstan, including the complex of Khoja Akhmet Yassawi (end of the XIV century) — striking example of the architecture of the Timurid period. It was built by the Order of Emir Timur in 1399 at the place where Khoja Akhmet Yassawi, died in the XII century, was buried. Headstone (mazar) for people in love, built near Tansyk aul in Ayaguz district of Eastern Kazakhstan, amaze by its greatness. This is one of the oldest monuments in Kazakhstan which is still in existence. According to the story, a prominent Kazakhstan’s scientist Shokan Valikhanov, who visited the monument in 1856, was impressed by its height as nine people had to stand one on another to get the top of the dome.
Wonderful petroglyphics, drawings on rock, are also can be find here. They are valuable monuments of pristine and medieval arts.
The richest museum’s collection receives much attention from international tourists and is always interesting for the major exhibition center all over the world. For example, in March 2012 in the USA the Freer and Sackler Galleries of the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World hosted the ceremony of opening of the exhibition «Nomads and their Contacts: Ancient Arts and Culture of Kazakhstan», which demonstrated unique items of culture of ancient nations of Eurasia steppes from the funds of the museum.
Last year exhibits of the museum were demonstrated at the exhibition «Unknown Kazakhstan — Archeology in the Heart of Asia», organized in Germany town Bochum.
Botagoz Kydyrmanova,
Senior Specialist of the RSE «Gylym Ordasy»
