Drawings in the grotto of the Kyzylzhailau tract

A detachment of the Chimkent Regional Museum of Local Lore searched for petroglyphs on the eastern slopes of the Karzhantau ridge in the Kyzylzhailau tract at an altitude of 480-1500 m above sea level, on the left bank of the Togut-ba river (right tributary of the Ugam river).

In a small grotto, west of the village of K. Marx, Denger district, Chimkent region found petroglyphs written in red ocher. The grotto is limestone, its average length is 8.2 m, width 6 m, height 7.7 m. The entrance is oval, oriented to the south. The bottom of the cave is covered with wet clay. The eastern wall is damp has a sinter character. Petroglyphs fill the entire upper part of the grotto at the height of 4.2-5 m from the present floor level. The preservation of petroglyphs is poor. 32 drawings were recorded, including images of goats, a dog (a wolf?), horses, anthropomorphic figures, a rider on a horse. There is a single image of a woman with her hands raised. On the ceiling of the grotto, two spots of light red color are visible and on top of them is a red stripe in the form of a ribbon. The size of the petroglyphs is not the same: from 5 to 20 cm. The surviving part of the drawings belongs to the Turkic and post-Turkic times.