Embedded Files
The Shrine and cult monument of the pre-Islamic period
The Shrine and cult monument of the pre-Islamic period
The Saka mounds at lake Toraigyr were built in the early iron age and belong to the Tasmolinskoi archaeological culture.
The culture was identified by M. K. Kadyrbayev on the materials of archaeological monuments of the tasmola tract belonging to ancient nomads-pastoralists. A feature of the culture is burial structures of the barrow type with stone and earth laying – the so-called "barrows with moustaches". Tribes Taskalinskiy culture were engaged in nomadic animal husbandry, had developed the technique of processing bone and metal. Applied art is characterized by"animal style".
Located 500 m East of the Eastern shore of lake Toraigyr, the cult and burial complex consists of stone and earth mounds from the early iron age and one mound with a stone box from the late bronze age. The complex has two religious buildings - mounds with moustaches and 4 stone steles, three of which are so-called koytas and one deer stone with images of deer in a flying gallop and an incomplete image of a tiger.
The monument is one of the most promising sources on the history of the early nomads of Kazakhstan. The sacredness of the archaeological monument is due to the fact that in ancient times it served not only as a burial place, but also as an object of worship. There is a high probability that the complex could have served as an astronomical object of that era.
M. K. Kadyrbayev is one of the outstanding scientists of Kazakhstan, who made an invaluable contribution to the development of national archaeological science. He realized his knowledge in the History Department of Leningrad University while working at the Institute of history, archeology and Ethnography of the Kazakh SSR Academy of Sciences.
Google Sites
Report abuse