Research of the Besaryk burial mound detachment

The detachment of the South Kazakhstan Complex Archaeological Expedition of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR continued the study of sites belonging to the early nomadic and early medieval periods and located along the Bes-Aryk River, on the lands of the Talap state farm, Yany-Kurgan district, Kyzyl-Orda region.

The main work was carried out at the Koblandy burial ground, discovered by a detachment in 1975. It is located on the left floodplain terrace of the Bes-Artyk River, 10 km north of the entrance to the gorge of the same name and has 102 earthen mounds and ring-fences, grouped into chains elongated from east to west. In the center of the burial ground there is a large mound "with a mustache", oriented with rays to the northeast. It was robbed in antiquity. The length of the right beam is 95 m, the left beam is 103 m. In addition, there are pure stone mounds in the burial ground 8–10 m in diameter and 0.5–1.0 m high. 21 mounds were excavated, mostly from the turn of our era. These are stone-earth embankments 0.3–1.0 m high and 6–10 m in diameter, as well as ring stone enclosures inscribed one into the other. As a rule, there was a blockage of stones above the grave pit in the center of the mounds and enclosures, oriented from the southeast to the northwest. Dirt pits, subrectangular in shape, 0.5–1 m deep. The buried lay stretched out on their backs (arms along the body) with western and northwestern orientations. Although not rich, almost all burials yielded inventory, but quite typical of the Saka-Usun time (the turn of our era). These are mainly clay vessels (two in each burial, in the heads of the buried), represented by cauldrons and mugs. There are small iron knives in the cauldrons. Often in the vessels or next to them were sheep and small cattle bones. Paste and carnelian beads copper temporal rings were found in some burials.

Mound 47 is interesting, which, judging by the finds, belongs to the end of the 1st millennium AD. This is a stone-and-earth mound with a diameter of 7 m and a height of 0.7 m. In the center, under the mound, a stone blockage was cleared over a soil grave pit, oriented with long sides from south to north. The pit was 2 m long, 0.9 m wide, and 0.6 m deep. To the right of the skull, in the northwestern corner of the pit, a small, flat-bottomed vessel, roughly hand-made, heavily smoked, was found, probably an incense burner. Near the radius bones of the right hand, another jar-shaped vessel, flat-bottomed, hand-molded, was found. Above lay the shoulder blade, ribs and forelimbs of the ram. An iron dagger in a wooden scabbard sheathed in red leather lay along the right thigh. Between the femurs, below the pelvis, a round iron buckle from a belt with a tongue was found, and in the middle of the left thigh - a small iron petiole knife.

Several identical kurgans were unearthed at the Kuyukty burial ground, opposite the Koblandy burial ground, on the right bank of the Bes-Aryk River. Here, in addition to ceramics, were found earrings made of twisted copper wire with pendants made of white ellipsoidal bead and beads made of white paste, turquoise, agalmatolite dark brown jasper, and green jade. The cemetery is interesting in that a burial complex of the Alakul stage of the Andronovo culture was found on its territory.

New multi-temporal rock carvings and Kazakh rural settlements of the 16th-17th centuries were recorded in the study area and more recent times.