The history of the famous collection of golden objects which are widely known as the Siberian Collection of Peter the 1st still remains in the focus of academic interest. Many hypotheses about its origin have been put forward. Recent archival and archaeological research undertaken in Trans-Uralian and West Siberian forest-steppe (between Ural mountains and Baraba plain) allowed scholars to connect a large part of the Siberian collection with the Sargat culture. It can be dated to the period between the seventh/sixth centuries BC and the third/fifth centuries AD.
The sites of the Sargat culture include numerous settlments and burial grounds. In the early Iron Age this culture constituted the northern periphery of the nomadic world of the great Eurasian steppes. Some aspects of this cultural entity will be discussed in the talk in the light of the most recent archaeological discoveries.