Archaeologists of the REC "The Greater Altai" of Altai State University explore the objects of the Turkic heritage in East Kazakhstan
From August 1 to 12, the international archaeological expedition "The Greater Altai – Turkic heritage: Semiyarka - 2023" is working in the Pavlodar region of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Participants of the expedition are scientists from the REC of Altaic and Turkis studies "The Greater Altai" of Altai State University, Toraigyrov University and the Institute of Archeology named after A.Kh. Margulan of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The tasks of the expedition include the study of the Turkic memorial fences of the 7th-9th centuries AD, discovered by archaeologists last year in the Pavlodar region of the republic.
According to Sergey Grushin, Deputy Head of the REC “The Greater Altai”, Professor of the Institute of History and International Relations of Altai State University, the expedition members dug up two fences in search of artifacts, but, unfortunately, the objects were looted and partially destroyed.
– We managed to find only traces of ritual actions: ashes and calcined animal bones. In addition, we were able to record all the architectural features of the fences and stone anthropomorphic statues made in the traditional Turkic style. This gives grounds for further comparison of these ritual objects with those that we find on the territory of the Russian Altai,” – said Head of the expedition, Professor of Altai State University Sergey Grushin.
Memorial fences of the Turkic period are found throughout the Greater Altai: nomads built them from stone slabs, placed statues or memorial steles next to them. The fence itself served as a place of commemoration of the dead and the preparation of ritual food.
According to Professor Sergey Grushin, the scientists made a detailed photo-fixation of the fences in order to further record them, include them in catalogs and create 3D models. At the end of the work, the memorial objects were museumified: scientists reconstructed their original appearance.
The second stage of the international archaeological expedition "The Greater Altai – Turkic heritage: Semiyarka - 2023" will be held in one of the tracts of the Kalmakkyrgan mountain range. Last year, archaeologists from Toraigyrov University discovered sites there, where the sites of the ancient Turks could supposedly be located. The expedition members plan to test this hypothesis.