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A kurgan is a type of burial mound, specifically an artificial hill of earth and stones built over the remains of the dead. The word "kurgan" itself means "barrow" or "artificial mound" in Turkic and Russian languages. These burial mounds are found in Eastern Europe and Siberia.123

The Kurgan culture, known for burying their dead in deep shafts within these mounds, arrived in regions like the Aegean and Adriatic around 2300 BCE. Burial mounds, also referred to as barrows or cairns, are ancient structures found across various parts of the world, including Western Europe, the British Isles, East Asia, and North America. They often contain grave goods, which are objects like weapons, ornaments, or tools buried with the deceased.134

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