Excavations of funerary monuments in southern Kazakhstan

The detachment of the South Kazakhstan expedition conducted research in the Otrar oasis and Karatau, as well as on the channels of the middle Syr Darya - Yrmaks, Kumaylykas and Bayalder.

In the Otrar oasis, near the Mardan-Kuyuk and Kuyryk-Tobe settlements, burial sites of the 2nd-4th and 10th-12th centuries were examined. Relatively well-preserved are three burial structures in the form of surface pakhsov crypts of a rectangular shape, with a low chamber. The buried were laid in an extended position on their backs, with their heads to the south. The inventory is represented by household items, weapons and jewelry. The found pottery dates back to the 1st-4th centuries.

The second burial ground is located to the south of the Kuyryk-tobe settlement. Burials were made in rectangular ground crypts built of raw bricks. The dead are laid on their right side, with their heads to the northwest. Khums and khumchis were found near separate groups of crypts, in some of them there was a child's skeleton. The burial ground dates from the 10th-12th centuries.

Exploration along the valleys of the rivers Yrmaks, Kumaylykas and Bayaldere (the southern slopes of Karatau) revealed numerous burial mounds and the ruins of medieval cities and settlements. In two burial grounds near the Atabay village excavated five burial mounds of the Iron Age.