Excavations of the Borizhar burial ground

The Semirechye archaeological expedition continued its work in Semirechye and South Kazakhstan. Surveys were carried out in the middle reaches of the Syr Darya and the valley of the Talas river, in the foothills of the Kyrgyz Alatau, and along the Arys river. The medieval settlements of the Otrar oasis and the slopes of the Karatau ridge were excavated. Interesting materials were obtained during the excavation of the Borizhar (Burdzhar) burial ground barrows. It occupied the slopes of the left bank of the Arys, 8 km long. All mounds of the burial ground are earthen. Separate kurgan groups are 40-50 m apart from each other. The distance between individual mounds is 3-5 m. The mounds are oval, mainly elongated from north to south, of the three kurgan groups of the vast burial ground, 41 mounds. Eight burial mounds have been excavated in two groups located on the upper terrace of the river. Only in two of them were thoroughly disturbed remains of a corpse without accompanying inventory. Since the bones of the skeletons were found below the level of the day surface, it can be assumed that the burials were made in a ground pit. In the third group, on the terrace slope, 33 mounds were excavated, and exciting and rich material was obtained. In all excavated kurgans, burials were made not in grave pits but on the day surface inside two types of ground pakhsa structures.

The first type is a rectangular or square fence, which is open on one side, reminiscent of Kazakh tombstones (kulpytas). In single burials, the skeletons were located in the middle, and in the case of a paired grave, closer to the walls. The open side of the fence often faces south, less often - west. The floor is covered with pebbles. In one of the enclosures, the buried lay on his back in an extended position, with his head towards the open western part; in the others, due to the disturbance, it was not possible to determine the orientation of the buried. Enclosures of this type are minor: the walls are 1.60–1.80 m long, 50–60 cm wide, and 30–40 cm high. The mounds are also small: 9–12 m in diameter, slightly more than 1 m hight.

The second type is an oval or quadrangular ground building, similar to Kazakh mazars (kumbez). It consists of an entrance corridor and a burial chamber. The burial chamber is rectangular (dimensions 2X2.5 m), with long sides oriented from north to south, from northeast to southwest, and from west to east. The height of its walls is 1.20 m, the thickness is from 0.80 to 1 m. In the middle of the southern (southwestern, western) wall, there is an entrance corridor 1.20–2.20 m long and 60 cm wide. The floor inside the chamber and the corridor are covered with river pebbles. Since all the burials in the excavated structures of this type were looted and the skeletons were disturbed, it was not possible to establish the position and orientation of the buried.

Structures of the second type are more complicated than the first and reach large sizes (up to 4x5.80 m). They are located under barrow mounds 15–18 m in diameter and 2–2.5 m high. A large fragment of a large earthen vessel, apparently covering the entrance to the burial chamber. It can be assumed that the buildings of the second type were open tomb structures of the type of Kazakh mazars. The mound hill was formed later due to the destruction of the walls of the structure.

All kurgan utensils are stucco, various in shape, with handles and plums. On the polished surface of individual vessels there is an ornament and tamga (signs). The inventory of male and female burials is relatively constant. In male tombs, iron knives, daggers and arrowheads, a set of bronze plates, buckles, plaques and pendants from stacked belts and tetrahedral stone whetstones with a through-hole were found; in women's and children's - bronze earrings, mirrors, bells, bracelets and rings, rich necklaces made of beads.

The Borizhar burial ground dates back to the 6th-8th centuries BC. Interestingly, the inventory of the burial ground, primarily ceramics, is similar to the inventory from the corresponding cultural layers of the settlements located here. The Borizhar burial ground was left by the population living in Arys river valley's cities and agricultural settlements.