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Glite Dictionary
🧑‍🤝‍🧑 A city dweller ⛰️ A burial mound
kurgan

kurgan

1 9.9
Large burial mound built long ago for dead people in Eastern Europe or Central Asia
  • noun
  • /ˈkɜrɡən/
  • Specialized
: kurgán
  • It was also an essential companion in the afterlife, and the elite could expect to be buried in large mounds, or kurgans, along with several sacrificed horses.

Examples

  • The archaeologists uncovered ancient artifacts buried within the kurgan, revealing secrets of past civilizations.

  • In 1998, we excavated one of these great kurgans in the Altai Mountains of eastern Kazakhstan.

    Academic text (2002)

  • All she saw were hump-backed burial kurgans rising out of the dun-colored steppe.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • In the region, many kurgans can be found dotting the landscape, each containing the remains of a noble warrior.

  • During their hike, they stumbled upon a large kurgan that had stood for centuries, a testament to ancient burial traditions.

Synonyms

burial mound
vskurgan
4 7.1

A mound of earth or stones built over a grave, often in ancient times

is a specific Eastern European or Central Asian type of that mound
barrow
vskurgan
  • UK
1 9.5

A large round mound of earth or stones covering an old grave

is the same form but used specifically in Eastern Europe or Central Asia
grave mound
vskurgan
  • Specialized
1 8.8

A heap of earth built over a grave in ancient times

is this mound type specific to ancient peoples in Eastern Europe or Central Asia

Surface Forms

kurgan singular
kurgans plural

Etymology

Kurgan comes from Russian and an old Turkic word qurğan meaning 'fort' or 'protected place', so picture a high 'hill' that guards what is under it. That's why a kurgan is a large burial mound built over graves.