They were found during excavations led by Galina Pugachenkova at the cemetery of Orlat, by the bank of the Saganak River (a tributary of the Zeravshan), immediately north of Samarkand.

There are three other plaques, smaller in size, on which are depicted a vulture, fighting Bactrian camels, and warriors.

Lines, blocks of color, and a few landscape elements to set the scene create an easy-to-read two-dimensionality that helps advance the progress of the depicted tale."

[3][1] Yury Khudyakov found numerous similarities between the plaques and other Xiongnu-Sarmatian finds from Mongolia and Altay, particularly a group of plaques retrieved from Tepsei Mount near the Yenisey River, usually attributed to Tashtyk culture.

[1] Pugachenkova believes the plaques were made by the inhabitants of Kangju, thought to have been closely related to the Kushans and Tocharians.

[10] These designs are broadly consistent in identifying the Saka or the Saka-Kangju tribes of Central Asia, which were regularly in conflict with the Yuezhis.