Archaeological sites of the Middle Ishim region
The North Kazakhstan expedition explored the area of the Sergeev reservoir on the right bank of the Ishim river. Here, along the coastal edge, for more than 10 km, small mounds of earth and stone stretch in a chain, dating back to the Early Iron Age. This chain is closed on both sides by grave fields. Northern (tract Alypkash) consists of 80 stone fences and fences with earth embankments. From the south (in the Ulyubay tract), there are more than 10 swollen earthworks.
On the southern and eastern outskirts of the Alypkash burial ground, two excavations unearthed 1656 sq. m. The space between the mounds was also investigated. Numerous depressions and 21 burial pits were found, 13 fences and burial mounds were explored in different parts of the site. The dead were placed in simple soil pits or in pits with wooden lining. 23 burials were made according to the rite of burial (14 on the left side, 3 on the right) and 13 on the burial rite. In mound 20, in pit 3, a double burial was discovered, combining inhumation and cremation. The ceramic complex of the burial ground has 80 vessels. The overwhelming majority of them have clearly expressed Alakul or Fedorovo features. However, there are forms with a peculiar mixture of those and other elements. Pottery of the Petrovka and Cherkaskul types was found on the inter-kurgan sites. The collection includes hundreds of women's jewelry made of gold, bronze, paste, bone and shells.
The female burial at kurgan 32 is rich and well-preserved. The headdress of the buried woman was decorated with beads, threads and stripes. Three low beads ending in spectacle-shaped pendants were fixed on the frontal part of the skull. Large bronze earrings covered with gold foil were found in the area of the auricles, beads and four cast figured crosses were found around the neck. Parallel to the ulnar bones were ornaments made of animal fangs, and on the hands were bronze bracelets with a leather base. Many rhombic and round plaques were located from the knee to the foot. The decorations were sewn onto some kind of fabric that tightly fitted the legs. At the ankles were low beads and pendants made of thin figured metal plates.
Four earth mounds 10–12 m in diameter and 0.2–0.5 m high were excavated in the Ulyubay tract. Central (maximum dimensions 4.0x2.5x1.6 m) had ledge walls, the remains of complex wooden structures on a flat bottom; in the eastern part of the pit there were two oval recesses for the wheels of funeral chariots. Under the embankment at the pit borders, paired horse burials were recorded (in the pose of a flying gallop). Most of the graves have been robbed. There are 30 vessels in the collection, mainly of the pronounced Petrovka type. Bronze items are represented exclusively by ornaments: beads, clips, round plaques, temporal rings, bracelets, rhombic-shaped pendants. Based on the materials of pit 9 of mound 2, a breastplate (composition of beads and spectacle-shaped spirals) and pendant decorations of the headdress are reconstructed.
In a chain of barrows made of stone, 20 structures with rich sets of bronze arrowheads of the 7th-6th centuries were investigated BC. The inventory includes belt decorations, plaques, bronze knives with ringed pommel, hammer-ax, and stone altars.