Archaeological expeditions
An exotic option when travelling through Siberia is to travel to Abakan, a city of roughly 160,000 situated in the Republic of Khakassia of Russia, and to participate in an archaeological expedition unearthing Scythian artifacts. Every summer, roughly from late May until early September, an archaeological camp is established within a day's drive from Abakan, under the supervision of an archaeology professor from St Petersburg and assistants, recruiting workers from all walks of life and of all ages. Participants can arrive any day of the week into Abakan, and are transferred to the archaeological camp for weekly incremental periods. Accommodation is in tents (sleeping gear provided), full meals are provided, and supervised diggings are conducted from Monday until Saturday midday. Sundays are devoted to a field trip visiting an archaeological site.
Participants can spend their free time visiting archaeological sites rarely seen by Western visitors, such as the "Salbik," the Scythian "Stonehedge" of the fifth century B.C., or aborigine paintings and carvings in caves and rocks (ancient tribes in the area are reputed to be the forebears of the American Indians who migrated over the land bridge to North America).
Khakassia, region for the archaeological digs, offers a wide variety of scenery, from steppe and taiga, fresh and salt water lakes, rivers, and mountains as high as 3000m.
The Scythians were a nomadic Indo-European people who spoke a language akin to Old Persian. As nomads, the Scythians kept cattle and moved seasonally in search of grass. They worshipped several gods. In war the Scythians were savage, and often scalped and beheaded their enemies - sometimes making caps from their skulls. Scythian art was almost completely decorative, adorning subjects of everyday use such as saddles, blankets, rugs, swords and vases.
At the Regional Museum in Abakan, Scythian artifacts and burial totems as old as 3000 years are on display.
SERVICES
Abakan archaeological camp, per week, $400/person (includes arrival/departure transfers
in Abakan to camp, full meals, tent and sleeping bag accommodation, archaeological supervision, excursion on Sunday to an archaeological site in the region)
Abakan: Transfer from train station, $22 Homestay: $32 single $56 double
Moscow-Abakan train ticket (or vice-versa): $163 2nd class, $374 1st class
Abakan-Krasnoyarsk: $82 2nd class, $141 1st class
