Local Partner: Community organization for preservation of ethnocultural heritage “Doidusa Darkhan Vozrozhdenie Historical-ethnographic center” (Sakha-Yakutiya)
Archaeological evidence of an iron smelting site built by Sakha people was discovered in the 2nd Khemkonsky nasleg [low-level administrative division] in Khangalassky ulus [settlement in Yakutia]. The site has a complex of smelters where rare ore was processed. During a 2017 field season, the site was surveyed by an archaeological expedition from the Institute for Humanities Research and Indigenous Studies of the North (Russian Academies of Science). 3 main metallurgical sites were identified and contain ruins of smelting furnaces and slag heaps. The goal of the project is to study ancient iron smelting techniques, document using archaeological surveys, protect ancient cultic practices, and protect the archaeological sites and artifacts.
