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In one of the barrows examined in 2007 at the site of Choburak-II (the territory of the Northern Altai), an in-trusive, and not quite ordinary, a collective burial of people was found. Accompanying burials of two horses were also recorded there and a variety of artefacts was found (a fragment of a stone grain grinder, elements of horse harness, miniature knives made of non-ferrous metal, a dagger, a chisel, a quiver hook, fragments of gold foil from clothing decoration and other items). The recovered materials made it possible to attribute the excavated burial site to the Pazyryk Culture and to carry out its dating, including the radiocarbon method. In this publication, a special attention is given to the pottery finds. Two vessels appeared to be severely damaged, and to determine their parameters it was necessary to use the bespoke technique of computer-aided restoration based on photo-grammetry and aimed at obtaining the most probable shape of these ancient containers. In this respect, an algo-rithm, being tested by the authors, of modern demonstration in publications of the category of products in question was implemented. Based on the reconstructions performed in the paper, the restored dimensions of the pottery vessels are given, as well as their closest analogies. The third pot (of a closed jar shape with well-marked han-dles) was found intact. It reflects a different cultural tradition. Such products are very rare in the Altai Mountains. However, they are found in the neighboring and somewhat remote territories. This circumstance influenced the in-terpretation of the recorded situation. Pottery ware is an important archaeological source. Unfortunately, it has not yet become a separate research area in the study of the Pazyryk Culture. It is hoped that the developments of the authors of the paper will contribute to the research. The specific nature of this additional burial of the deceased person is noted. The investigated archaeological site to a certain extent may reflect the processes of interaction of the Pazyryk popula-tion with their northern neighbors. The body of the considered data complements the content and features of the culture of the Altai population of the Scythian-Saka period.

In this article we introduce into scientific discourse and provide diverse interpretation of the extraordinary burial of a young man of 13–15 years old, investigated during the excavation of the necropolis of the Bulan-Koby Archaeological Culture within the Choburak-I funeral and memorial complex. This site is located on the right bank of the Katun River, 3.6 km south from the Elanda Village in the Chemal District, Altai Republic. The unique nature of this object (mound no. 29a) is determined by the presence of a full-fledged “male” inventory with the deceased, including long-range weapons (bow and arrows with iron tips) and close combat (knife in a scabbard), items of equipment (belt buckles, distributors, fasteners), whip with a bone handle. In addition, a bone comb was disco-vered in the grave, which is traditionally an attribute of grave goods in female burials of the Altai population of the Xianby-Rouran period. At the same time, there was no riding horse in the burial, which was a mandatory attribute of funeral practice for full-fledged members of society. A comparative study of different categories of weapons, equipment, tools and household utensils, as well as comparison of the obtained results with radiocarbon dates, made it possible to establish the chronology of the published complex within the second half of the 4th — first half of the 5th c. AD. In the context of the funeral rite of adult population who used the Choburak-I burial ground, the grave of an adolescent from mound no. 29a belongs to the Dyalyan tradition, whose representatives were the elite of the society of cattle breeders in the Northern Altai during the Rouran period. The analysis of the obtained materials testifies to the special (“transitional”) individual status of the deceased person in the nomadic society of the Bulan-Koby Culture in the middle of the 1st mil. AD. Probably, the specificity of the deceased's life position was determined, on the one hand, by reaching a certain age and belonging to a fairly wealthy family, and by limi-tations in physical development recorded in the course of anthropological research, on the other hand.

В статье представлен опыт рассмотрения тюркских оградок как одной из форм сооружения кенотафов в раннем средневековье. Сомнения в исключительно «поминальном» характере таких объектов неоднократно высказывались многими исследователями. Анализ материалов раскопок археологических памятников Алтае-Саянского региона и Центральной Азии 2-й половины I тыс. н.э. позволил выявить серию отличительных признаков каменных оградок, сопоставимых с характеристиками кенотафов раннесредневековых тюрок. Наиболее показательными чертами в этом плане являются небольшие каменные ящички, разного рода сопроводительные объекты (балбалы, стелы, изваяния, каменные кольца, пристройки и др.), состав инвентаря. Имеются основания для предположения о том, что на ранних этапах развития тюркской культуры каменные оградки выполняли функции кенотафов, при этом в более позднее время данная традиция могла трансформироваться. Дальнейшие детальные исследования, связанные как с получением новых материалов, так и с интерпретацией уже накопленных сведений, позволят более подробно и обоснованно рассматривать процессы сложения и эволюции традиций обрядовой практики раннесредневековых тюрок, а также реконструировать комплекс представлений, сопровождавший сооружение «поминальных» объектов., The article analyzes the examination of Turkic mortuary enclosures as one of the forms of cenotaphs erected in the early Middle Ages. Many researchers have been doubtful about the exceptionally «commemorative» character of such objects. The analysis of the material found in the course of the excavation work of archaeological sites in the Altai-Sayan region and Central Asia in the 2nd half of the first millennium AD allowed for marking a number of characteristic features of the stone mortuary enclosures which are comparable with characteristics of the cenotaphs of the early middle-ages Turks. Among the most distinctive features are small stone boxes, various types of objects accompanying a set of grave goods (balbals, stelae, statues, stone rings, additions etc.). The facts suggest that the stone mortuary enclosures served as cenotaphs at an early stage of the development of the Turkic culture, but this tradition could have been altered in a later period of time. Further detailed research of the new materials as well as the interpretation of the available information will allow us to consider the formation and development of the ritual traditions of the early middle-ages Turks on a more reasonable basis and which will also help reconstruct the understanding of the Turks who erected these «commemorative» objects.