Research at the Ornek settlement

Joint research expeditions to compile a list of monuments at the Institute of History, Archeology, and Ethnography of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR and the Dzhambul Regional Museum of Local History were concentrated in the foothill zone of the Lugovsky district, Dzhambul region, in the gorges of Karaarcha, Kaindy, Mamai-Kaindy and Sulutor, where monuments of different eras were examined.

Excavations were carried out at the site of Ornek. It looks like a quadrangular plot (190x190 m) surrounded by a wall with towers at the corners and perimeter. At a distance of 100-200 m, there is a second wall. Inside, on the territory of the first square of the walls, the remains of buildings can be traced. One of them was located almost in the center, closer to the southern entrance, and was rectangular in plan (20x35 m). The excavation revealed a part of the building: a wall section 5 m long, 2 m wide, lined with stone on the outside. Two stone bases of columns were also cleared here. One of them has a carved floral ornament on four sides. Pottery from the excavation dates back to the 11th-12th centuries. Apparently, the excavation captured a part of the city mosque, which belongs to the multi-column type. A round stone column 2 m high was found from the territory of the settlement. Its upper part is decorated with stylized masks, belts of floral and geometric ornament.

Another excavation on the territory adjacent to the central fortification revealed the remains of a Muslim mausoleum made of mud brick, "standing" on a building, the floor of which was cleaned over an area of ​​3 sq. m. On the floor were the remains of two charred boards (length 0.6 m, width 0.2 m) from the ceiling and the charred door panel. The carving is geometric in nature - palmettes are depicted in arches. Pottery collected in the rubble under the base of the mausoleum and its filling dates back to the 12th century. Probably, the carved wood also belongs to this time.

The settlement of Ornek lies on the medieval caravan route, between the Lower Barskhan and Kulan, the localization of which is quite clearly defined. Ornek is located halfway between these cities and can be identified with one of the Karluk centers, most likely with Kulshub.