The Issyk burial mound is regarded as a major archaeological discovery from the Scythian-Sacae period, indeed as one of the greatest finds of the 20th century. The burial mound dates back to the 4th century ��. In 1969-70 a vault 60 metres in diameter and 6 metres high was discovered under the mound, with two burial chambers. The central chamber had been repeatedly plundered in ancient times, but the side-chamber, 15 metres south of the central one, was untouched. The young man who lay buried there was a Sacae ruler; Kazakhstani archaeologists believe he was a representative of the ruling Great Kushan Empire.
    The Golden Warrior was dressed in an arrow-shaped headdress and chain-mail armour richly decorated with platelets. His belt and weapons were of pure gold. The costume consists of 4,000 gold ornaments in the animal style typical of Sacae craftsmen. The young warrior's ornamented funeral armour is priceless. His dagger (akinak') is a masterpiece of the "animal" style, with 21 beasts worked on both gold-plated sides of the dagger. Replicas of the Golden Man are on display at museums in A-matyandAstana.