Names
Улуг-Хем – Кара-суг, Е 9
Location
Found in district Sayik, near the stream of Qara-Sug, the right inflow of the river Elegest, in 2 km from village Ust-Elegest.
Stored in the Tyva Museum since 1961.
Specification
The inscription consists of 5 lines from nearby 60 signs. It is located vertically on two wider opposite planes of stele.
Lines 1 and 2 508 are now almost invisible. Bad safety condition of the monument was mentioned in 1963 (Т-I, P. 24). Some half-erased old Turkic signs were found on one of narrow lateral planes after chemical clearing of the monument from mineral formations. But it was not possible to restore the text completely. The monument has considerably suffered from the latest guest inscriptions.
The stele is made of yellow-grey calcareous sandstone. The form quadrangular in cross section, surfaces are polished, sides are precisely expressed.
Size
Height – 190 cm, length – 41 cm, width – 16 cm
Researches
Found in 1888 by Aspelin, following to messages received by him from Martyanov.
The monument was examined and copied by Klements in 1891, and Oshurkov in 1892. The copy was transferred to Radloff. S.E.Malov 509 states negative estimation to the retouched copy 122 (LXXV, figs. 4). It is marked, that reading and translation of the inscription are very presumable. Because of destructions of the surface it is impossible to reconstruct lines 1, 2, 4, 5, and also signs 22-24 on 3 line. Reconstruction of only a fragment of the inscription is executed. Some graphic variants have differences in comparison with former publications. The text was investigated by W.Radloff, S.E.Malov, H.N.Orkun 510, and others.
