This article deals with the ossuaries from the collection of the State Museum of History of Uzbekistan. The history of this historical object, the changes in its artistic and aesthetic aspects over the centuries are considered and described from the point of view of art criticism. Among the peoples of Central Asia, the custom of burial in a crypt developed in the first half of the 1st millennium BC and continued until the 8th century BC (until Islamic burial customs were adopted). Ossuaries help to study ancient customs, reveal the subtle aspects of the practical art of ancestors.