Covering the period from the Scythian epoch to the Middle Ages (8th century B.C. – 13th century A.D.), the exhibition features the history and culture of the peoples of Sayano-Altai, Transbaikal and South Siberia.

The exhibition acquaints the visitor with the culture of the peoples of Sayano-Altai, Transbaikal and South Siberia from the Scythian Epoch to the Middle Ages (8th century B.C. – 13th century A.D.).Occupying an important place in the rooms devoted to the Scythian Epoch are the objects found during the archaeological excavations in the Altai region and Тuva. They are supplemented by the materials pertaining to the Tagar culture, which spread over the territory of the Minusinsk hollow. The materials devoted to the Huns nomads explore their daily life. The cultural artefacts of the Turkic-speaking States, which could be found on the territory of Sayano-Altai and South Siberia in the 6th – 13th centuries, complete the exhibition.

The burial mound of Pazyryk situated on the southern slope of the Chulishmanskiy Range in the eastern Altai is one of the most remarkable archaeological monuments of the “Scythian“ Epoch. Room 26 presents the objects of great value discovered in the burial ground of the Fifth burial-mound (4th-3rd centuries B.C.), the last of the “imperial” graves in the high mountain valley of Pazyryk. In the burial chamber was found a larch log hut, a wooden catafalque, a felt rug with the ritual scenes executed in the appliqué technique and the most ancient pile carpet to be found worldwide.