Stone Print from the Karakengir River

Abstract

The meaning of the article is determined by the necessity to introduce into scientific discourse a rare monument of sigillography – a stone carved print. The print was found on the right bank of the Karakengir River, 15 km northeast of the city of Satpayev, Ulytau Region, Republic of Kazakhstan. Currently it is stored in the Karaganda Regional Museum of History and Local Lore. Rectangular symbols which remind of Phag-pa or Mongolian square writing are carved on the front side of this matrix. Consultations were held with orientalists and linguists from Russia and abroad for attribution, linguistic, textual analysis. As a result of these consultations, it turned out that this is not a Mongolian square letter and the inscription on the print is not readable. Probably, the print cutter did not know the Mongolian square writing and reproduced the text on the front panel from memory, making misrepresentation. It is assumed that this print could belong to one of the Kalmyk or Dzhungar high-ranking persons of the 17th–18th centuries. It could have been lost during the Last Great Nomadic Migration – the exodus of the Kalmyks from the Russian Empire to their historical homeland in Dzungaria in 1771. The author expresses hope for the prospect of publication which will make the print item available for further research of the mysterious inscription.