Archaeology

The ancient settlement of Mеrkе (7th-13th century)

Located in Zhambyl region, Merke district, on the western outskirts of the village of Merke. The settlement is one of the few in Semirechye (Zhetysu) that has preserved its medieval name. The city of Mirki has been known since the 8th century. In the 9th-10th centuries, it is mentioned in the itineraries of Kudama and Ibn Khordadbeh. They called it a large settlement. The Arab geographer al-Maqdisi provides a more detailed description: Mirki is a medium-sized city, fortified, with a citadel. The ruins of Mirki form a rectangular plan.

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THE SETTLEMENT OKHUM VI-XII centuries

The settlement of Okhkhum is located in the Baizak district, 300 m west of the Sambet-Bostandyk highway. The settlement was first surveyed in 1894 by V.V. Bartold, in 1936-38 it was surveyed by the Semirechye Archaeological Expedition under the direction of A.N. Bernshtam. In 1983, it was investigated by an archaeological detachment of KazGU under the direction of M.E. Yeleuov; a schematic plan was drawn, rampart cross-sections were made, and surface ceramic material was collected. In 1986 and 2000, a detachment of the archaeological expe

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THE PLACE OF SETTLEMENT OF PRIMITIVE MAN AKKOL (LOWER PALEOLITHIC)

One of the first stages of the Lower Paleolithic is the Acheulean epoch. During the Acheulean epoch, humans began to gradually adapt to social life in a community. One of the monuments of this period is the Akkol site, which is located 11 km southwest of the village of Akkol, south of Lake Akkol, in the Talas district. The monument was discovered in 1961 by archaeologist Kh.A. Alpysbaev. In 2009, it was surveyed by the Inventory of Monuments expedition of "Archaeological Expertise" LLP under the direction of E. Akymbek, Ch. Kudabaev.

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THE PLACE OF SETTLEMENT OF PRIMITIVE MAN TANIRKAZGAN (lower paleolithic)

The Tanirkazgan site is located 13.4 km southeast of the village of Kyzylaut, in the Tanirkazgan tract in the Talas district. Stone artifacts of Paleolithic appearance were discovered by archaeologist Kh.A. Alpysbaev in 1968 on a flat elevation composed of sandstone. In 2000, it was resurveyed by the South Kazakhstan Comprehensive Archaeological Expedition of the A.Kh. Margulan Institute of Archaeology of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan under the direction of K.M. Baipakov. The area of the site is no more than 1 sq. km. Test pits were laid. A large quantit

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BURYING GROUND OF BERKKARA (II century BC-IV century AD)

The kurgan burial ground is located on the foothill plain at the base of the northern slopes of the Karatau range (Zhualy district) on both banks of the Berikkara River. The kurgans extend from the gorge to the coastal strip of Lake Bilikol. The monument was discovered and recorded in 1938-1939 by an archaeological expedition under the direction of A.N. Bernshtam. In 1957, it was studied by the South Kazakhstan Archaeological Expedition under the direction of A.G. Maksimova, in 1978 — by the expedition of the Dzhambul Regional Museum of Local History mu

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Lower Barskhan – a neighbouring town of Taraz (6th-12th centuries)

Located on the territory of the Baizak district, 15 km from the ancient settlement of Taraz, 1.5 km southeast of the village of Talas. The city is mentioned in 10th century Arab sources by Qudama ibn Jafar and Maqdisi. Maqdisi writes: "Barskhan is a city at a distance of two human voices to the east (from Taraz), surrounded by a wall that has already collapsed. The cathedral mosque is among the markets." The settlement has the form of a two-tiered rectangular mound (at the base 310 by 140 m) 10 m high, oriented along the cardinal

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THE ANCIENT SETTLEMENT OF ZHALPAKTOBE (GIKIL) VI-XII centuries

The settlement of Zhalpaktobe is located in the village of Zhalpaktobe in the Zhambyl district, situated in the suburbs of Taraz. According to A.N. Bernshtam, the settlement of Zhikil got its name from the Turkic tribe Zhikil. According to G.I. Patsevich, the settlement of Zhalpaktobe can be identified with the city of Dzhikil, about which the 10th century Arab geographer al-Maqdisi reported. He characterizes it as a "small settlement" within earshot of Taraz. The opinion about the identity of Zhalpaktobe and Dzhikil is shared by T.N. Senigova and K.M. Baipak

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The Settlement of Taraz (1st – 18th centuries)

Beneath the modern central market lie the remains of the oldest part of the Taraz settlement — the citadel — this was the residence of influential figures — rulers, clergy. Adjacent to the citadel was the walled territory of the city called the shahristan, where the dwellings of the nobility, wealthy merchants, craftsmen, the eastern bazaar, and mosques were located. On all sides of the shahristan walls, there were trade and craft suburbs — rabads. They housed craft workshops, dwellings of masters, and also live

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THE PLACE OF SETTLEMENT OF PRIMITIVE MAN BORYKAZGAN (LOWER PALEOLITHIC)

The Paleolithic is the ancient Stone Age. It is the oldest epoch of the formation of humans, their thinking, productive activity and culture. The first traces of humans on the territory of Kazakhstan date back to the Early Paleolithic (approximately 800-140 thousand years ago). Traces of human settlement on the territory of Kazakhstan belong to the Lower Paleolithic, as evidenced by tools of the Chellean-Acheulean period — found in the tracts of Shabakty, Tanirkazgan, Borykazgan, Akkol, Kazangap (Southern Kazakhstan — Karatau range). The earl

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THE SETTLEMENT TUIMEKENT VI-XII centuries

The settlement of Tuimekent is located on the southeastern outskirts of the village of Tuimekent, on the right bank of the Talas River, in the Baizak district. In 1894, the settlement was examined by V.V. Bartold, in 1936-38 it was surveyed by the Semirechye Archaeological Expedition under the direction of A.N. Bernshtam. In 1986, a detachment of the archaeological expedition of the Inventory of Historical and Cultural Monuments worked at the settlement under the direction of K.M. Baipakov. During the archaeological work, a plan was drawn, surface material was collected, traces of destru

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