Research of the Chimkent Pedagogical Institute
The detachment of the Chimkent Pedagogical Institute continued the study of the settlement-fortress Altyntobe, Altyntobe burial ground, Karatobe settlement.
In the Altyntobe settlement (southwest of Chimkent), on about 600 sq. m, 21 structures of the upper construction horizon were opened. They are combined into six residential complexes, consisting of two or three interconnected premises and transitional corridors. The walls of the premises are pakhsa or adobe bricks plastered with clay. There are open hearths, hearths-fireplaces, sufa along one of the walls in the premises. There is khums dug in at the neck in some rooms with an annular stone lining at the floor level. The premises are divided according to their purpose: residential, warehouse, kitchen, religious. In general, the layout of the central part of the Altyntobe was revealed at the level of the upper building horizon, rich material (ceramics, stone, bone) was obtained, tentatively dated to the end of the first half of the 1st millennium AD.
At the same time, work was carried out in the pit (4x16 m) to clarify the monument's stratigraphy and fortification. The material obtained from the pit dates back to the 4th-5th centuries AD.
At the Altyntobe burial ground (to the west of the settlement), barrows 3, 10 were excavated. And with group burials in the catacombs (two to four bones in the chamber, corpses were laid on their backs). The mounds of mounds 10-14 m in diameter and 0.8-1.2 m high are uniform in structure (loess): they contain traces of funeral feasts (ceramic fragments, vessels, boat-shaped grain graters, ash stains). The burial chambers are oval, 2.5-2.3x1.7-1.5 m in size. The entrance from the dromos to the burial chamber was blocked with rectangular mud bricks or filled with a pakhsa wall 30-40 cm thick. The orientation of the bones is north and southeast. The grave goods are represented by ceramics (vessels, a water-bearing jug, pots, mugs), weapons (stalked iron knives), ornaments (earrings, glass, and stone beads), dated preliminarily to the 1st-3rd centuries BC.
Excavations have begun at the settlement of Karatobe (Shymkent region, Sairam district, southeast of Chimkent). The monument is a rounded hill 14 m high, 65X70 m in size (a total area of more than 150 sq. m). The main excavation (3.5x25 m) over the entire area was brought to the level of the upper construction horizon (1-1.2 m from the daylight surface). Eight sub-quadrangular dwellings with pakhsa walls have been completely or partially unearthed. Sufa, open-type hearths, and stone excavations have been traced. Ceramics of the 4th century BC found during excavations.