Saka gold exhibition from East Kazakhstan closes in Cambridge
The unique exhibition, branded by the UK media as «international sensation» and shortlisted among the six best exhibitions of the world by the Apollo magazine, was open in the UK for four months. Despite quarantine restrictions, about 25 thousand people visited the exhibition that was dedicated to the 30th anniversary of Independence of Kazakhstan.
The exhibition presented hundreds of unique gold artefacts dating back 8th-3rd centuries BC from three burial complexes in the East Kazakhstan region: Berel, Shilikti and Eleke Sazy. The exhibits allowed visitors to discover the life, history and legacy of the Saka people and explore the points of resonance of ancient nomads with modern Kazakh culture, the Kazakh MFA’s press service reports.
Speaking at the closing ceremony, the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the UK Erlan Idrissov noted that the exhibition opened the rich history of Kazakhstan to an international audience and became the epitome of scientific and cultural cooperation in the name of a common goal – trying to decode ancient sources of information and better understand the history of humankind.
Luke Syson, Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum, thanked Danial Akhmetov, Governor of the East Kazakhstan region, the leadership of the East Kazakhstan Museum of Local History, Professors Zainolla Samashev and Abdesh Toleubayev for close cooperation and added that throughout the exhibition, scientists from Cambridge University, together with Kazakh archaeologists, conducted research on unique Saka artefacts. The results of the scientific research will be presented to the global community in the coming months. He also noted that the exhibition and its accompanying research laid a solid foundation for deepening cooperation between the scientific communities of Kazakhstan and the UK.