Research of the South Kazakhstan expedition in Otrar
Continued research on the Otrar settlement. Three excavations were laid in the north-western part of the settlement and one excavation - near the south-western gate of Otrar (each measuring 50 * 50 m). The latter completely captured a free-standing hillock, bounded on all sides by hollows of streets, one of which is central and connects two entrances to the territory of the settlement.
The structures of the upper layer are destroyed. Only in some areas fragments of walls with a height of one or two bricks, the bases of tandoors and paving made of burnt bricks have been preserved. The building structures of the lower layer are well preserved.
Without dwelling in detail on the characteristics of each of the excavations, it is necessary to point out first of all the fact of the clear identification of individual residential quarters during this field season. Streets 2-3.5 m wide running in latitudinal and meridional directions were found between them. In some places, roads turn into undeveloped areas – squares or courtyards.
The buildings of excavation 1 are divided by streets and undeveloped areas into three blocks. The total number of opened rooms here is 38. 62 premises have been opened on the excavation area 2, grouped into two blocks and separated by a street running in the meridional direction. At excavation 3, 35 rooms were cleared, which are divided into four blocks by streets. Another quarter was uncovered at excavation 4. Its buildings number 30 rooms.
The development of blocks is generally of the same type and consists of one-two- and three-room and very rarely multi-room houses, closely attached to each other. The only or central (in the case when there are several) room of such a house had dimensions of 20-35 sq. m. The walls are made of raw rectangular bricks (30*20* 9 see and 27*16*7 cm), laid flat and on an edge with a slope. The method of laying on an edge with a slope is typical for buildings with a massive earthen roof, which is necessary in harsh winters, and is still widespread in residential architecture in the south of Kazakhstan. The thickness of the walls, preserved at a height of 0.30-0.70 m, ranges from 0.75 to 1 m. From the inside, the walls of the premises were smeared with clay. A tandoor hearth was smeared into the floor, raised relative to the base of the walls by 0.20-0.30 m. Its purpose is universal. The tandoor has a thickness in the form of a rectangular hole and a chimney laid at floor level and covered with fragments of burnt bricks. Chimneys are brought into the walls by vertical wells, less often by horizontal channels. The length of the chimneys varies – from 0.60 to 1.2 m. At the level of the tandoor furnace, there is a recess in the floor, lined with burnt bricks. Immediately on the site there is necessarily a drain device (tashnau), tables made of brick or wooden blocks and pedestal-shaped furnaces for boilers. Here, when clearing, there are millstones, stone pestles of various sizes. Usually in the corners of the room there are clay bins, hums and jugs for storing grain, cellars, utility pits.
If the house is two-room, then in the second room there were utility pits, bins and bins, tashnau, lined with burnt bricks. The floors in the second room are arranged at the base of the walls. The number of rooms in a multi-room house, in addition to rooms with tandoor and bins, includes rooms for ceremonial purposes, sometimes with floors paved with burnt bricks and sandalwood-type hearths. In such houses there were aivans facing the streets. There were paired tandoors in the premises of several multi-room houses. They were either located side by side, having a common chimney in the wall, or in different corners of the room. There is one house with a paired tandoor in each block.
The complexes of buildings 'uncovered at all four excavations' date back quite clearly to the 16th-17th centuries. The dating is based on significant numismatic material (about 60 coins).
The main material from the excavations is ceramics. Non-watering ceramics are represented by hums, pots, jugs, bowls. It is characterized by the presence of deeply traditional, archaic features: riveted cones, vertical handles with punctures, carved ornament in the form of broken lines in combination with pits. Irrigation ceramics are represented by bowls, two-handed pots. The paintings of bowls, plates and dishes differ in a wide variety. Paintings in the form of tamga at the bottom of the bowls are of interest. Similar signs, scratched before firing, are found on pallets and on the lower parts of the walls. The signs correspond to the tamga of the Kazakh tribes Kerey and Kipchak.
Mention should be made of carnelian, agalmatolite, glass and stone beads. The diamond-shaped pendant made of green serpentinite, the upper part of which is decorated in the form of a snake's head, is striking in perfection. Bronze bracelets, rings, rings, wood products and bone crafts were also found.
The results of the excavations also make it possible to raise and solve the issues of the topography of the late medieval city, the handicraft specialization of the quarters and the social organization of the urban population.