NOMADS OF ZERENDY AND SANDYKTAU AT THE TURN OF ERAS (NORTHERN KAZAKHSTAN)

Abstract

The article publishes archaeological excavation data from the Aydarly burial ground and archaeological reconnaissance conducted in the Zerendy and Sandyktau districts of the Akmola region of the Republic of Kazakhstan by the Ishim stationary archaeological expedition in 2010 and by the A.Kh. Margulan Institute of Archaeology in 2024–2025. The burial ground consisted of three structures: two barrows with undercut (catacomb) graves and one ritual structure. The barrows differ in the composition of the mound and the pit construction. Barrow No. 1 with a soil embankment has a standard undercut grave with the entrance of the burial chamber located below the bottom of the access pit. Under the stone and earth embankment of barrow No. 2, an undercut burial chamber with the entrance located above the bottom of the access pit was discovered. The accompanying inventory from the burial in barrow No. 1 included ceramic, iron arrowheads, a knife, and sacrificial animal bones. These grave goods combined with the ritual, allow us to date its construction to the second half of the 2nd-1st century BC or the turn of the era. The chamber type in barrow No. 2 and its southern orientation, determined by the in-situ calcaneus bones, allow it to be synchronized with barrow No. 1. Three statuary objects were discovered at the site during excavation. The first anthropomorphic slab was discovered beneath the mound of barrow No. 1. Two more statuary objects were recorded during excavations of barrow No. 2 – in the burial pit and as part of a ritual arrangement. The archaeological survey revealed archaeological sites with similar layouts and mound types. A stone slab with a tamga (sign) was discovered near one of them. Analysis of the burial rites, grave goods, sculptures, and tamgas of the Aydarly and Karagayly burial grounds, as well as the Sarkara burial ground explored last century, suggest that at the turn of the eras, Sarmatians penetrated the central part of the Kokshetau Upland from the Ilek River basin or from the Turgay region. Judging by four recorded tamgas, these communities interacted with populations from the southern regions of Central Asia.