Burial complexes of the burial ground Urkach-I

The Urkach-I monument (Mugalzharsky district, Aktobe region) was first recorded in August 1991 by an archaeological team led by S.Y.Gutsalov at the sources of the Or (Or) and Zhem (Emba) rivers. In 1992, an archaeological expedition of the Aktobe Pedagogical Institute named after K.Zhubanov excavated 11 burial mounds. The monument is located in the Urkach tract, 5.6 km northeast of the village of Karakol (formerly. Mikhailovka). It consists of more than 39 funerary and memorial objects (burial mounds and "sanctuaries") built on top of the watershed plateau. The objects of the burial ground are divided into three topographically related, but clearly subdivided groups: central, western, southern. The largest object of the mound is mound № 1 (diameter - 40m, height -4.0 m). The analysis of funeral rites and objects of material culture shows that the funeral and memorial complexes of the Urkach-I burial ground were built in the majority at the end of 6^th- 5^th centuries BC and reflect the peculiarities of the formation and development of the early Sarmatian culture of the nomads of the Southern Urals and Western Kazakhstan. The materials of the monument under consideration trace the cultural influence of both the Scythians of the Northern Black Sea region and the North Caucasus, and the Saks of the lower reaches of the Syr Darya and Amu Darya.