Information
- Location
- Маңғыстау облысы, Mangystau District
- Period
- 301 – 1900
- Category
- Historical and cultural monuments of republican significance
- Type
- Necropolis, Сomplex, Mosque, Underground Mosque
- Kind
- Ensembles and complexes
Sources
- The architecture of nomads is a phenomenon of the history and culture of Eurasia // Monographs: Author: Azhigali Serik, 2002
Description
The medieval necropolis of Masat-ata is located in the northwestern part of the Bostankum sands, 25 km south of the Ushtagan village. According to legend, the necropolis is associated with “saint’ who arrived in these places from Mashhad (hence the name of Bayit) during the invasion of the Kalmyks. Masat-ata fought with the Kalmyks, and when the latter cut off his head, “he grabbed it in his hands, jumped on a horse and disappeared; traces of his horse are still visible”.
The necropolis is located on a long ridge, the south-western slope of which has gentle outcrops of solid limestone rock, which served as a material for monuments. There is a semi-underground, single-chamber mosque, oriented by the entrance to the south. The Bayit also consists of Turkmen and Kazakh parts. The first group of monuments (14th -18th cc.) is represented by a mausoleum and numerous tombstones of the “koytas” type. They are characterized by severity and laconism of the three-dimensional solution, the presence of curly recesses in the anterior part-shyraks and almost complete absence of decor and epigraphy. On the tombstones there are tamga signs, occasionally reliefs of saddlebags. The uniqueness of this part of the necropolis is given by four realistic sculptures of male sheep (koshkars), which are not found anywhere else in the studied area in such numbers.