Recent issues

All books have Russian text, English summary, illustrations and a detailed list of all objects in English. Each volume costs US$25 (+US $15 p. & p.).

• Archaeological Sites of the Hsiungnu, vol. 1. "Ivolga archaeological complex" by A. Davydova. Part 1. Ivolga fortress. St-Petersburg, 1995.
• Archaeological Sites of the Hsiungnu, vol. 2. "Ivolga archaeological complex" by A. Davydova. Part 2. Ivolga cemetery. St-Petersburg, 1996.
  The complex includes sites of a fortified settlement, fortification works and cemetery. The Ivolga fortress is situated at a distance of 16 km from Ulan-Ude, in the Selenga-river valley. The dimension of the fortress are: from north to south - 350 m, from the west to the east - 200 m. The four defensive ramparts are 35-38 m breadth. This obstacle was insurmountable for cavalry: horses couldn't jump over it. Fundamentally the excavation were made in the south part and inside of the fortress, where the excavated area represented 7 000 square meters, 54 dwellings and 600 pits were investigated here, the majority of which were left behind from various economic structures. The majority of the dwellings belong of the type house sunk into the virgin soil. One dwelling is a house built on the surface of the virgin soil only - it was placed in the center of the fortress. In the north-eastern corner of every dwelling was the fireplace, constructed of slabs of stone. The Ivolga fortress was built according to certain plan. The dwellings were placed in rows, the rows were formed into blocks, which were divided by long ditch-like pits. The finds testify, that the inhabitants of the fortress were engaged in agriculture, metallurgy (iron and bronze), jewelry-making, cattle-breeding (domestic animals - 92 %), hunting and fish. The Ivolga cemetery was investigated full. There are 216 tombs in the cemetery, which kept the details of clothes, necklaces, unique beads and the details of the belts - the bronze plaques in "Ordos style", bracelets, beads etc.
• Archaeological Sites of the Hsiungnu, vol. 3. Derestuj Cemetery by Sergey Minyaev.
  Derestuj burial ground has been the subject of detailed investigations over recent years. The site has yielded very important evidence for Hsiungnu social history. There are several groups of mounds, each containing several burials. In the center of each burial complex there is a tomb with masonry above the grave with other burials arranged around it. The central burial was usually made in a wooden coffin placed into a stone cyst. Several artefacts were found in the central burials, but almost none in the secondary graves. While both men and women were interred in the central burials, the secondary ones contained remains of infants and juveniles, some of them bearing signs of violent death. This would suggest that the Hsiungnu practiced human sacrifice. A large number of artefacts were found in the graves, the most common being belts and other details of clothing, (principally plates made in the Ordos style), ceramics, glass stone beads, etc. The belts consisted of a central part (normally two bronze plates) and other details like small bronze and stone plates, bronze, iron, and stone rings, fasteners, etc. Scenes in the Ordos style are represented on the bronze plates -for example fighting horses, a beast of prey grasping a herbivorous animal and fighting dragons.
• Archaeological Sites of the Hsiungnu, vol. 4. J.D. Talko-Grintzevich. Paleo-ethnology of Trans-Baikal area. St-Petersburg, 1999. 150 pages text, maps of sites and pictures of finds.
  The fourth issue of the "Archaeological sites of the Hsiung-nu" consisted of re-edition of first data from these sites, which were discovered by J. Talko-Gryntsevich in Trans-Baikal area near Russian-Mongolian border during 1896-1902. The materials were published in local department of Russian Geographical Society under the common name "Materials for paleo-ethnology of Trans-Baikal area". These publications are a bibliographic rarity and need for reprinting. Into the issue are included as materials of Hsiung-nu sites (Ilmovaja pad, Eduj, Burdun, Derestuj) and number of sites of adjacent epoch. The maps of the sites and burials, drawed by J. Talko-Grintzevith, tables and photos of finds are reproduced. In addition the article by J. Talko-Gryntsevich "The Population of barrows and cemeteries of Trans-Baikal area" is included in the issue.
• Archaeological Sites of the Hsiungnu, vol. 5. A. Davydova, S. Miniaev. Complex of archaeological sites near Dureny.
  The book is the first edition of excavation of hsiung-nu settelments Dureny-1 and Dureny-2 .Ivolga-type dwellings were found here, demonstrating their inhabitants were agriculturalists, pastoralists, and craftsmen. This settlement stretches 11 km (!) along the Chikoy river. About 12,000 sq. m were excavated. Ornaments of various types were found here, as well as a bronze seal with a representation of the mountain goat.
  Dureny-2 is a stratified site where eleven layers have been registered. The middle ones document the transition period, since layer 5 contains pottery of the Hsiung-Nu types while in layers 6 and 7 the Hsiung-Nu ceramics co-occurs with the medieval one. So contrary to what the Chinese sources assert, the Hsiung-Nu lived in Central Asia not only during the last two centuries BC, but also during the Middle Ages.

Saint-Petersburg "Asiatic Foundation" has published:

• Peter Pavlov. TERT-ABA - a cemetery of Karasuk culture in South Siberia. SPB, 1999, 174 pages of text, 132 tables of pictures.
  The book is edition of the cemetery of Karasuk kulture "Tert-Aba" (South Siberia),that was excavated full. The book consisted of two part. First is description of Karasuk kulture and problems of it investigation, second part is description of the cemetery with 132 lists of pictures.

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