Research in Northern Kazakhstan
The Ishim detachment of the North Kazakhstan expedition (North Kazakhstan Regional Museum of History and Local Lore, Petropavlovsk Pedagogical Institute) started excavations of the Bronze Age settlement Petrovka II. The monument is located 90 km south of Petropavlovsk on the first floodplain terrace on the left bank of the Ishim River. Two excavations were laid at the settlement, which uncovered 1800 sq. m of the cultural layer with a thickness of 0.6 to 2.3 m. The cultural layer contains numerous remains of residential and defensive structures belonging to different periods of the functioning of the settlement. For the first time, the site was inhabited in the Early Bronze Age, as evidenced by the hearth and the accumulation of ceramics in depressions, similar to the dishes of the Krotovo type in Western Siberia. The remains of 8–9 dwellings of the ground type belong to the second period of the settlement's existence. They have the shape of elongated rectangles oriented along the northeast-southwest line.
The area of the premises varies from 27 to 50 square meters. Defensive structures belong to the same building horizon - ditches 1.5-2 m deep and 2-3 m wide, reinforced with internal and external ramparts. They encircle a site close to a rectangle, with sides of 70X120 m. The inner ditch divides the settlement into two parts areas of 5600 and 2800 sq. m. The excavations recorded two passages up to 2 m wide, one in the central part of the inner ditch, the other on the southeastern side of the fortification. Near the passages, the remains of sacrificial complexes were found - animal bones and whole vessels. A kind of pottery is associated with the second building horizon, which preceded the Alakul complexes in Northern Kazakhstan. In its purest form, it is known from the settlement excavations near the village of Bogolyubovo and a cult place and a burial ground near the village of Petrovka, located 600 m north of the Petrovka II settlement and undoubtedly associated with it. The third layer recorded on the monument is Alakul. It includes two sub-rectangular dwellings with corridor-shaped exits and many pits from pillar structures. The depth of the pits is up to 1.5 m, the area is 180-200 sq. m, ground hearths with stone calculations. The last period of the functioning of the settlement includes fragments of large dwellings of the semi-dugout type, which contain rolled ceramics of the final bronze.
10,000 finds have been recorded, including more than 40 bronze artifacts: 6 sickles, 5 knives, a socketed chisel, an adze with a ledge, arrowheads and spears, fish hooks, jewelry, etc. Items related to metallurgical production are of particular interest: metal ingots, pieces of ore and slag, fragments of stone and clay molds. The excavations of the Petrovka II settlement have yielded valuable materials on horizontal and vertical stratigraphy, which puts it among the unique monuments of the Bronze Age of Kazakhstan and the Urals.
Work continued at the Novonikolskoye I settlement, where 500 sq. m (in just three seasons, 4060 sq. m were excavated). The excavation explored the remains of several dwellings and a section of a defensive structure (ditches, ramparts), clarified data on the stratigraphy of the monument, and revealed a plan of the settlement.
The Chaglinka detachments carry out work in the Kokchetav region. At the Vinogradovka X site, an excavation of 72 sq. m (layer thickness 15–20 cm), a ground-dwelling of a rounded shape with an area of about 25 sq. m. The flint inventory (743 specimens) from the cultural layer and the lifting collections is completely homogeneous. It is made of reddish jasper and is characterized by tools on ruddy blades; flake items are rare. At the Vinogradovka XII site, 44 sq. m of the cultural layer up to 10 cm thick. The flint inventory (1092 specimens) is made of gray jasper, mainly represented by production waste, cores, and knife-like plates. At the Vinogradovka VI settlement, two reconnaissance excavations with a total area of 60 sq. m. The resulting ceramic material indicates the multilayered nature of the monument, the time of which is probably limited to the last stages of the Bronze Age. At the graveyard at Kuropatkino explored 4 burial mounds with earthen embankments. In mound 2, a system of pits was found that belonged to a wooden tombstone structure. Under the mounds, from 1 to 7 grave pits, mostly of a sprat orientation, were found, which contained the remains of corpses and wooden structures. 24 vessels of the Fedorovo-Alakul type were found in the mounds and grave pits.