Archaeological sites threatened by climate change

Archaeological sites from the frozen steppes of Central Asia to the coast of Greenland are threatened by climate change. In the survey Sites in Peril for the Archaeological Institute of the American publication Archaeology, Andrew Curry says that "archaeologists can't stop global warming but they can make dealing with it a priority". One project is to save frozen tombs in the Altai Mountains of Kazakhstan and Russia, which in the past 60 years have yielded burials with well-preserved grave goods. Many have been frozen for more than two millennia, sandwiched between frozen subsoil and the insulating mound of rubble above which forms a kurgan, similar to the round barrows of Salisbury Plain in appearance. The bodies have been mummified by the cold, and their clothing, often with elaborate applique designs, and stomach contents have been preserved intact.