Editing Saka (section)

===Southern Siberian kurgans excavated in the 18th century===
{{main|Siberian Collection of Peter the Great}}
[[File:Approximate location of the finds of the Siberian Collection of Peter the Great.png|thumb|left|Approximate location of the finds of the Siberian Collection of Peter the Great.<ref name="BM">{{cite book |last1=Pankova |first1=Svetlana |last2=Simpson |first2=St John |title=Scythians: warriors of ancient Siberia |date=1 January 2017 |publisher=British Museum |url=https://www.academia.edu/34533231}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Presenting the Warrior Iron Age Scythian Materials and Gender Identity at the British Museum American Journal of Archaeology |journal=American Journal of Archaeology |date=July 2018 |url=https://www.ajaonline.org/online-museum-review/3680 |language=en}}</ref>]]
During the 18th century and the Russian expansion into Siberia, many Saka kurgans were plundered, sometimes by independent grave-robbers or sometimes officially at the instigation of [[Peter the Great]], but usually without any archaeological records being taken.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Presenting the Warrior Iron Age Scythian Materials and Gender Identity at the British Museum, American Journal of Archaeology |website=www.ajaonline.org |date=July 2018 |url=https://www.ajaonline.org/online-museum-review/3680 |language=en}}</ref> Only the general location where they were excavated is known, between modern [[Kazakhstan]] and the [[Altai Mountains]].<ref name="BM"/>
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Many of these artefacts were part of the archaeological presents sent by {{ill|Matvey Gagarin|ru|Гагарин, Матвей Петрович}}, Governor of Siberia based in [[Tobolsk]], to [[Peter the Great]] in [[Saint-Petersburg]] in 1716.<ref>{{cite web |title=Museum notice |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/68423546@N08/48574017982/in/photostream/ |date=19 August 2019}}</ref> They are now located in the [[Hermitage Museum]] in [[Saint-Petersburg]], and form the [[Siberian Collection of Peter the Great]]. Their estimated datation ranges from the 7th century BC to the 1st century BC, depending on the artefacts.<ref name="BM"/>
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File:Siberian Collection of Peter the Great An aigrette. State Hermitage. Inv. Si 1727 1-131.jpg|Aigrette, 4th-3rd century BC. [[Siberian Collection of Peter the Great]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pankova |first1=Svetlana |last2=Simpson |first2=St John |title=Masters of the Steppe: The Impact of the Scythians and Later Nomad Societies of Eurasia: Proceedings of a conference held at the British Museum, 27-29 October 2017 |date=21 January 2021 |publisher=Archaeopress Publishing Ltd |isbn=978-1-78969-648-6 |page=223 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W6MWEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA223 |language=en}}</ref>
Steppes horseman hunting.jpg|[[Boar hunter (Hermitage Museum)]], 2nd-1st century BC.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pankova |first1=Svetlana |last2=Simpson |first2=St John |title=Masters of the Steppe: The Impact of the Scythians and Later Nomad Societies of Eurasia: Proceedings of a conference held at the British Museum, 27-29 October 2017 |date=21 January 2021 |publisher=Archaeopress Publishing Ltd |isbn=978-1-78969-648-6 |page=219 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W6MWEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA219 |language=en}}</ref>
File:Ингальская долина-3.jpg|Belt plaque from the Siberian collection of Peter the Great, probably [[Ingala Valley]]
File:Siberian gold, Siberian Collection of Peter the Great.jpg|Siberian gold, Siberian Collection of Peter the Great
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