Archeologists Discover Evidence of Siberia Conqueror’s Burial Site

Yekaterinburg (PNA/TASS) — Archeologists in Russia’s western Siberian Tyumen region have found the first confirmation of a legend about a burial site of Cossack chieftain Yermak known as the historical conqueror of Siberia. They discovered a hill near a forest in the area of the Begishevskoye populated locality where, according to a legend, Yermak was buried, the expedition leader Alexander Adamov told TASS on Monday.

“We are using a map compiled in 1906 by regional land-surveyor Vasily Filimonov. The map was drawn up in accordance with the evidence of local residents. Filimonov noted that Yermak’s burial place was located on a hill near a forest and arable land. We checked this information and found a hill near the village of Begishevskoye. It’s located not far from a place where, according to legends, Yermak fought his last decisive battle,” the scientist said.

According to Adamov, the scientists have found on the hill burial grounds dating back to the 10th and 11th centuries. “Now we want to explore the area using the geo scanning method to find other possible burial sites. After obtaining the results of geo scanning, we will hold targeted excavations,” he said.

To carry out the necessary research, the archeologists need equipment worth a total of 600,000 rubles. “We have filed an application for participation in a presidential grant. If all documents are processed in time and we make it into the list of the grant recipients, the expedition to the possible Yermak’s burial site will take place in August. If this doesn’t happen, we’ll be able to hold excavations no sooner than in 2016,” Adamov said.

Yermak was a 16th-century Cossack chieftain who led the Russian conquest of Siberia under Tsar Ivan the Terrible. In 1581, he led a military expedition against the Siberian chagan Kuchuk, which marked the beginning of Russia’s conquest of the region. Yermak died on August 6, 1585, on the Vagai River. (PNA/TASS) FPV/CDN