The Karachik Region in Antiquity and the Middle Ages: a History of Monument Studies
Eleuov M. Taleev D. Moldakhmet A. Zhusipnazar M.
2025Margulan Institute of Archaeology
Kazakhstan Archeology
2025#29Issue 3154 - 170 pp.
The article presents the preliminary results of archaeological surveys and investigations conducted by the University Archaeological Expedition of al-Farabi Kazakh National University (led by M. Eleuov) in 2023–2025 in the Karachik region. The work covered the gorges of the Kyzylata, Bayaldyr, Biresek, and Khantagy rivers, located on the southern slopes of the Karatau Mountains and forming part of the Turkestan oasis. As a result of field research, new archaeological sites were identified and described, and their topographic features and cultural-historical significance were determined. Archaeological investigations in this region had previously been carried out in different periods – in 1969–1970, 1996–2006, and 2001–2008. The most recent research represents a logical continuation of the accumulated scholarly experience. During the expedition, a number of sites were localized, situated both in the foothills of the Karachik River and in the gorges of its tributaries. The spatial patterns of site distribution, their interconnections, and their presumed functions (fortifications, settlements, kurgans, watchtowers, etc.) were analyzed. Particular attention is given in the article to the question of the localization of the city and fortress of Shavgar, mentioned in medieval written sources. Through a comparative analysis of archaeological data and historical texts, hypotheses about their possible location within the Karachik region are examined. The conclusions reached open up new perspectives for the study of the historical geography of the cities of the Turkestan oasis and deepen our understanding of urbanization processes in Central Asia.
citadel , irrigation system , Karachik , Middle Ages , rabad , settlement , shahristan , Shavgar
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Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Margulan Institute of Archaeology, Almaty, Kazakhstan
National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Astana, Kazakhstan
Al-Farabi Kazakh National University
Margulan Institute of Archaeology
National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan
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