Preservation of historical and cultural heritage sites in the area of construction projects: experience of work on funeral monuments of the Keles steppe
Amirov Y. Buranbayev R. Kamaldinov I. Zhanuzak R. Akhmetov I.
2025Margulan Institute of Archaeology
Kazakhstan Archeology
2025#28Issue 2250 - 271 pp.
In 2024, in the Keles District of the Turkistan Region, reconnaissance and excavation work was carried out by a team from the Margulan Institute of Archaeology as the result of «Darbaza – State Border with Uzbekistan» railway lines construction (Phase 1). During these works, previously unknown burial mounds Tuyemoynak 1 and 2 were discovered and studied. The first burial mound, featuring a catacomb structure, had been looted, leaving only a few bone fragments and pieces of pottery. Based on its structural features, it dates back to the 1st–4th centuries AD. In the second mound, a burial was found in a side niche, presumably following Muslim customs, along with funerary inventory. The artifacts and burial practices suggest a period between the 8th and 10th centuries AD. The individual from the Tuyemoynak 2 mound, aged 40–45, was identified as belonging to the Europoid anthropological type with Mongoloid admixture. The investigated mounds are part of a vast burial complex located between the Keles and the Kurykkeles rivers. The variety of burial structures indicates the heterogeneity of the tribal population and the complexity of religious beliefs during the 1st millennium AD. The work carried out to identify and study archaeological sites in the construction zone reflects current practices in the field of rescue archaeology in Kazakhstan. This field has proven fairly effective in preserving historical and cultural heritage, although it still has a number of weaknesses.
archaeology , catacombs , Keles steppe , nomadic burials , paleoanthropology , side chambers
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Margulan Institute of Archaeology, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Margulan Institute of Archaeology
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