Burial complexes of the Middle Ishim region

The expedition detachment of the Chelyabinsk University, the North Kazakhstan Regional Museum, the Petropavlovsk, and Chelyabinsk Pedagogical Institutes excavated burial mounds near the villages of Berlik and Kenes, Sergeev district of the North Kazakhstan region. Eight burial mounds of the Bronze and Early Iron Ages have been unearthed.

The burial mounds of the Bronze Age (Kenes burial ground, mound 12; Berlik burial mound, mounds 1–3) have swollen mounds 12–18 m in diameter and 0.2–0.4 m high. Rectangular pits up to 3.5х2.5 m and a depth of 1.5 m. In two cases, small oval depressions with the remains of children's burials were recorded in the southeastern sectors. In barrows 1 and 2, clay platforms up to 10 m in diameter were cleared around the central pits. On them, on both sides of the graves, bones of horses lay with their skulls to the west (in a gallop position). The walls of the pits had double wooden frames, the gap between which (10-15 cm) was filled with dense clay soil. In mound 2, at the bottom of the grave pit, two depressions (0.2 m) 0.8–0.9 m long were cleared, in which impressions of wheels - rims and spokes - were preserved. Almost all burials of the Bronze Age have been robbed. The inventory is represented by 20 Petrov-type vessels, bronze piercers, fragments of jewelry, and a triangular-shaped stone arrowhead with a flat base.

Two burial mounds of the Early Iron Age in the Berlik burial ground with earth mounds 0.5–0.8 m high and 10–12 m in diameter contained burials at the level of the ancient surface and in oval pits, barely deepened into the mainland. The pits are oriented from northwest to southeast.

Two burial mounds (Karaoba and Obaly) were located in the steppe, 5–6 km from the edge of the root terrace. The diameters of the mounds are 44–50 m, and the height is 2.2–3.0 m. There were more ancient mounds at the base of the mounds covered with clay platforms and wooden structures. The mounds are surrounded by ditches, in which accumulations of bones of domestic animals were found. The grave pits were located in the center of the kurgan site. The pit of the Obaly burial mound is the largest - 4.0x3.5x5.0 m. All central burials were robbed. Only bronze and bone arrowheads and fragments of pottery were found.