Stone Boxes Research Articles

ON THE PROBLEM OF EASTERN BORDER OF SAKA CULTURE OF ALAI

Introduction. The article is devoted to the problem of establishing the eastern border of the Saka culture of Alai. An important role in understanding of this problem is played by the Touyun burial ground, located in the southwestern part of Xinjiang, close to Kyrgyzstan. Materials and methods. This burial ground has specific funeral rites, which demonstrate the characteristic features peculiar to the Saka culture of Alai. In particular, these are burials in stone boxes, crypt-like stone structures and at the level of the ancient surface, constructed under low stone-earth burial mounds. Burials in them were both single and multi-act. The buried people in these burials were in an elongated position with orientation of the sculls to the west and northwest direction. The funeral inventory from Touyun was relatively poor and represented by a couple of ceramic vessels, jewelry items (earring, bracelet, and beads), a belt garment (belt buckle), household items (sumac, awls) and clothing items (plaques). Results and discussion. These funeral objects, based on analogies, allowed us to establish the time of existence of the Touyun burial ground, which fits into the chronological framework of the end of the 5th - 3rd centuries BC. It is evident, that this necropolis appears as a result of the migration of the Saka population from the eastern part of the Alai Valley. The occupying this territory group of Alai Saka was appeared in the contact zone with the population of the Saka culture of Tien Shan region, with which, apparently, they established marital ties. Currently, the Touyun burial ground is the easternmost site of the Saka culture of Alai, which makes it possible to expand the border of this culture by more than 130 km to the east than previously thought. It also made it possible to significantly clarify the real areas of the main archaeological cultures in the southwestern part of Xinjiang such as the Saka cultures of Alai, Pamir and Tien Shan region.

APPLICATION OF MICROBIOMORPHIC AND TOTAL PHOSPHORUS ANALYSES TO THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE SREDNY ZELENCHUK TEMPLE, NIZHNY ARKHYZ HILLFORT

The article presents the results of the first geoarchaeological study of the materials of Christian burials identified in the interior of the Middle Zelenchuk temple of the 10th century in the Nizhne-Arkhyz ancient settlement (Republic of Karachay-Cherkessia). The results of microbiomorphic (phytolith) and total phosphorus content analyses allowed us to reveal previously unknown features of the funeral rites of the multicultural and multi-ethnic Christian population of one of the largest cities of the North Caucasus in the Middle Ages. The differences in funerary practices between the 11th and 13th centuries became evident when studying even a small group of funerary complexes in which people of the same social group – representatives of the social elite of Western Alania – were buried. The geoarchaeological study showed an abundance of plant and animal organic matter in the burials. The complex analysis of archaeological materials and data obtained during the microbiomorphic study allowed us to conclude that members of the urban Christian community had several burial traditions: in stone boxes (tombs), in wooden frames, and a mixed ritual when a wooden structure was placed in a stone box. The presence of wooden bark particles in the burials seems to be related not so much to the material from which the burial structures were made as to the presence in the graves of bark or bast objects (bast caskets or boxes, birch bark amulets, toys, etc.). The tradition known from pagan Alanian burials of placing the head of the deceased on a “stone cushion” (more typical for male burials) was preserved in early Christian burials. In one of the four women’s graves studied, the analysis showed the presence of a “hay pillow.” Probably, before the burial, a ritual of washing the deceased was performed, as evidenced by the presence of diatoms and sponge spicules in the samples.

Three-Dimensional Spatial Microscopic Characteristics and Developmental Influencing Factors of Tight Gas Layers in Hangjinqi Prospect Area, Ordos Basin, China

The unconventional tight oil and gas resources in the Xinzhao East belt of the Hangjinqi Prospect area in the Ordos Basin of China are abundant. However, the reservoir’s internal storage space is complex, and the microscopic pore throat structural features are not well recognized, which has led to some trouble in the deployment of oil and gas exploration. To reveal the microscopic characteristics of the dense sandstone gas layer in the first member of the Lower Stone Box Formation of the D-well Zone in the Xinzhao East belt of the Hangjinqi Prospect area, a three-dimensional space digital core was built, and the stored set spatial data were extracted, based on rock sheet and coring data and X-CT scanning technology. Quartz grain size was segmented and analyzed based on an adaptive approach. The microscopic characteristics of the gas layer in the studied section and the factors influencing its development were studied, combining the use of a field emission scanning electron microscope, helium porosimeter, and gas permeability meter. We found that in the studied section, the porosity is relatively high, the pore throat size is large, and the pore permeability correlation is good. The reservoir space, which consists of intergranular pores, intragranular pores, and microcracks at the grain edges in the study area, is characterized by a complex distribution pattern. Within the gas layer, isolated pores are connected by microcracks to form a network of reservoir spaces, which increases the pore throat size, enhances the connectivity of the pore throat, and makes the microscopic characteristics of the reservoir space better. The first member of the Lower Stone Box Formation could be an advantageous reservoir. Hole–throat connectivity is poor because of the gas layer having underdeveloped primary pores, the blockage of pores by unstable minerals (kaolinite, etc.), and poorly connected pore throats based on insoluble mud cementation. The high content of quartz brittle minerals and the development of natural microcracks within the gas formation are favorable conditions for fracking development. The quartz grain size within the gas layer is positively correlated with the pore throat size, which suggests that the quartz grain size somewhat influences the microscopic characteristics of the reservoir space. This comprehensive study shows that the methodology of the study is more advantageous than traditional methods in the fine and three-dimensional spatial characterization of the microstructure of dense sandstone reservoirs. The research results of this paper have certain guiding significance for further reservoir evaluation and advantageous reservoir prediction in the Hangjinqi Prospect area in the Ordos Basin. We also provide the basis for the subsequent efficient development of the gas reservoir.

Determining the energy of impact of a railroad rolling stock wheelset when derailing over reinforced concrete sleepers using impact trace parameters

The object of research is reinforced concrete sleepers that are subjected to the impact of a wheel in a railroad rolling stock. A procedure is given to theoretically estimate the energy at the impact of a wheel into a reinforced concrete sleeper when a rolling stock wheelset derails. Experimental studies of the geometric parameters of impact traces that occur on reinforced concrete sleepers, depending on the height of the center of mass of the striker above the impact site, were conducted. Based on the results of the experiments, the average geometric parameters of the impact traces were obtained. It was established that the dependence of impact traces on the height of the center of mass of the striker above the place of impact into the reinforced concrete sleeper has a non-linear distribution. Experimental studies of the effect of the location of the reinforced concrete sleeper base on the geometric parameters of impact traces were conducted. It was established that the location of the reinforced concrete sleeper on a solid base and on crushed stone ballast does not exert a significant effect on change in the geometric parameters of impact traces. The obtained experimental values are within the limits of 3σ determined for the rigid abutment of the sleeper. It was established that when testing a reinforced concrete sleeper in a crushed stone box, the amount of energy depends on the height of the striker. At a height of 0.95 m, the amount of energy absorbed by the sleeper together with the ballast was 475 J, and at a height of 1.42 m – 710 J. Analytical dependences were obtained between the length of the face of the impact trace and the amount of absorbed energy, as well as the depth along the direction of the force and the amount of absorbed energy. It was established that the length of the impact trace has an extremum, which does not allow recommending this parameter for estimating the amount of absorbed energy for energy values E<200 J. To determine the amount of energy absorbed by the sleeper, it is recommended to use the parameter of the depth of the impact trace

Main characteristics of burial complexes of Central Kazakhstan in the Late Bronze Age

The main factual basis of the research comprised the materials of 25 necropoleis of the Late Bronze Age examined in the Karaganda and Ulytau regions of Central Kazakhstan. The total number of the investigated burials amounts to 167 individual structures. There were 190 burials recorded. Since the 2000s, nine cemeteries belonging to the Late Bronze Age have been investigated. There were 72 burial structures studied, including one of the eight largest mausoleums in the region — Karazhar-tas, excavated in 2016–2017. All known burial structures were divided into three groups: surface stone boxes, boxes imbedded in the bedrock, and ground graves, which, according to the characteristic above-ground structures, were divided into ten types of burial structures. It has been noted that for the first group of the burials, the most characteristic are quadrangular funeral structures erected using the masonry technique. The second group is dominated by quadrangular fences built from vertically set slabs, less often from stone laid on flat. The third group is clearly dominated by a ring-shaped layout in the form of the stones selected according to their dimensions, laid in a circle. The most numerous appeared to be the first group, for which the charac-teristic feature is the arrangement of the burial chambers in the form of stone boxes raised above the ground. The less repre-sentative was the second group with subsurface burials, including those that had a form of composite stone boxes. The third group comprised the burials in ground graves. It is assumed that in the first two groups, the westward orientation of the interred is predominant, with a certain role of the northeastern sector. The third group is characterised by the invariable orientation of the deceased in a southward direction with the sleeping position of the skeleton laid on the right side.

Население золотоордынского времени Восточно-Причерноморского региона по данным остеометрии (по материалам раскопок могильника Натухаевское 5)

Introduction. Osteometric data of adult individuals of the anthropological series from the burial ground of the Golden Horde time "Natukhaevskoe 5" are presented for the first time in this work. Based on the standard measurements, patterns of the skeletal constitution of the buried are discussed. As part of this study, we tested the hypothesis about the difference in the morphological appearance of two samples, combined according to the type of funeral rite - stone boxes and burial grounds. Materials and methods. The anthropological collection consists of the remains of 124 adult individuals, including 67 males and 57 females. Measurements of the postcranial skeleton were carried out according to the program of R. Martin (in version by V.P. Alekseev) according to 55 features. The degree of homogeneity of the male and female samples was determined using an intragroup analysis with the method of principal components for 10 features. The Mann-Whitney test was used to assess the statistical significance of differences. Results. The male population was rather tall with a shortened robust humerus and an elongated forearm bones, the lower limbs were long and massive. Among the female group, there is also a tendency to lengthen the lower limbs, relative to the upper ones, mainly due to the lower leg. The conducted intragroup analysis did not reveal statistically significant differences between the two groups, united according to the type of funeral rite, neither among men nor among women. However, a large range of linear size variations was found among men buried in stone boxes. Compared to them, the sample from the ground pit is more homogeneous. A different picture is observed in the female sample, where higher morphological diversity can be traced among those buried in the pits. @ 2023. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license

Finding of an Early Scythian weapon set in a burial of the Tagar culture (Askiz steppe)

The article is devoted to the analysis of a weapon set discovered during the excavations of the Tagar kurgan in the Askiz steppe in 2020. This complex consisted of two adjacent fences and a children's burial in a stone box between them. According to the characteristic features of the burial rite, the mound can be dated within the VIII – VII centuries BC. In the grave pit of fence No. 1, a bronze dagger with a knife in a well-preserved leather case with embroidery was found near the man's right hand. Typological features allow us to attribute these items to the Early Scythian stratum. A dagger with a slightly beveled roller-shaped pommel, a flat plate handle, a straight crosshair in the form of two spikes, a four-sided blade with a double-sided sharpening has a genetic connection with the Karasuk samples. The entire gun set has extensive analogies both among random finds in the Askiz steppe and in closed complexes on the territory of the Minusinsk basin. The ornament of four «mushroom-shaped» figures embroidered with tendon threads is unique for the Khakasko-Minusinsk steppes. Such finds expand our understanding of Early Bulgarian art, which appears to be very traditional at the initial stages. The "freedom" in the ornamentation of the leather cover analyzed in the article is determined by the «game» moments reflecting the individual consciousness of the ancient master, being a specific indicator of value cultural and mythological orientations. In this case, it was possible to fix a completely new plot within a rather closed visual system.

Своеобразное погребение эпохи Великого переселения народов некрополя Карбан-I (Северный Алтай)

The article presents the results of the materials study from kurgan 11 of the Karban-I site, excavated in 1989 by the expedition of the Barnaul State Pedagogical Institute. This archaeological complex is located on the left bank of the Katun river, 1.7 km northwest of the Kuyus village of Chemal district of the Altai Republic. The key characteristics of the fixed structures (mound with an oval-shaped crepe-laying; a shallow grave pit, a burial chamber in the form of a stone box) and the method of inhumation (single position of the corpse on the back; orientation of the deceased with his head to the western sector of the horizon; the absence of an accompanying burial of a horse) indicate that that this object belongs to the Karban tradition of ritual practice of the population of Altai of the 2nd century BC – 5th century AD. Analysis of the discovered inventory (horn onlays for a bow, combat knife, typesetting belt, bone arrowheads, awl, pendants and braids made of non-ferrous metal, beads) and its comparison with materials from synchronous complexes in adjacent territories became the basis for determining the chronology of the burial within the Early Xianbei period (2nd – early 3nd centuries AD). It was established that the set of objects included items that were typical for both female and male “standard” rite of the Altai nomads of this period. It is concluded that the buried individual, most likely a male, was a representative of the prosperous stratum of the ordinary population. Judging by the availability of means of long-range and close combat including numerous equipment, he was part of a group of professional warriors. At the same time, the deceased during his lifetime occupied a rather high position in a small group of pastoralists who left the Karban-I necropolis.

The Late Bronze-Early Iron Age Monument in the High Mountain Area of the Little Caucasus: Chovdar Necropolis

Our research is dedicated to the archaeological research conducted in the territory of Chowdar village, Dashkasan region of Azerbaijan. Here, 214 stone box graves were involved in scientific research.

ԴՐԱՄՆԵՐ ԱՐՑԱԽԻ ՏԻԳՐԱՆԱԿԵՐՏԻ ՊԵՂՈՒՄՆԵՐԻՑ (ՀԱՅ.) / COINS FROM EXCAVATIONS IN TIGRANAKERT OF ARTSAKH

Among the quite rich and diverse finds of Ancient, Medieval and Modern periods material culture obtained as a result of the archaeological excavations of Tigranakert (in Artsakh), there are also silver and copper coins circulated during those stages of the city's existence. They were found in 2008 – 2013, 2016 – 2017, during field works. In two of the six pithos burials and one stone box burial excavated by the expedition, seven Parthian drachmas were found, dating back to 80 – 38 BC. The presence of coins in the tombs of Hellenistic Tigranakert and their relatively large number compared to the number of excavated tombs testify to a city with a developed monetary economy. Coins of the early medieval period are few: they are represented by one Sasanian drachm, one copper imitation of a Sasanian coin, and one Byzantine folis. Coins of the developed Middle Ages, which have been found mainly from the Central Area of the city, are copper fels from the two Eldiguzid atabeks, Shams ad-Din (1136 – 1175) and Abu Bakr (1191 – 1211). Especially the large number of the latter's issues, 12 coins, can be explained by the fact that his main residence was Gandzak/Ganja, not far from Tigranakert. Among the finds of this period is also the silver dirhem of Kay Qobad I (1219 – 1236), Sultan of Rum. Archaeological studies have recorded that the upper chronological limit of finds of medieval material culture in this settlement is the first half of the 13century, which fully corresponds to the fact that there are no coins of the 13– 16centuries here. New times are represented by a silver issue of the Ganja Khanate and three copper issues of the Karabakh Khanate that date back to the 12th – 18th centuries; and also by find during excavations near a water source at the foot of the hill, Russian copper kopecks of the 19th – early 20th centuries.

ПОГРЕБЕНИЕ ПОЗДНЕСКИФСКОГО ВРЕМЕНИ ИЗ СЕВЕРНОГО АЛТАЯ

The article presents materials of one of the mounds excavated as part of the Choburak-I burial and memorial complex. This site is located on the right bank of the Katun river, to the south from the Elanda village, in the Chemal district of the Altai Republic. Mound No. 4 was explored by the archaeological expedition of Altai State University in 2015. The key characteristics of the studied object are a small stone mound; a shallow grave pit covered with several layers of slabs; burial chamber in the form of a stone box; burial of a person (men aged 25-35) according to the rite of single inhumation; the crouched position of the deceased, laid on the right side; orientation of the deceased in the western direction; lack of accompanying equipment. Judging by the results of radiocarbon analysis, as well as the existing analogies in the Altai sites, the published complex can be attributed to the northern version of the Pazyryk culture of the Scythian-Saka period, and its chronology is determined by the framework of the final stage in the history of this community.

An elite burial of the Early Turkic period from the Upper Irtysh Region

In the second half of the 1st millennium AD, Early Turkic tribes started penetrating the territory of Central Asia, Kazakhstan, and Siberia. Under their influence on the territory of the Upper Irtysh, the process of develop-ment of a Kimek-Kipchak state formation began. The initial stage of this process, reflected in the funeral rite and characteristic elements of the material culture, is barely known. In this paper, materials of the kurgan 1 of the bar-row cemetery of Menovnoye XII, located in the territory of the Upper Irtysh 2.1 km to the southeast of the village of Menovnoye, Tavrichesky district, East Kazakhstan Region, are analysed. Under the mound of the kurgan was a fence with an annex containing a burial of a person, a dog, and two pairs of horses. The central male burial has been robbed. In the sacrificial pit, located south of the grave, there were remains of two horses: one had been laid on the stomach with its legs bent under the body and head to the east; the other, overlaying the first one, had been placed on a banket, laid on the right side with its legs bent under and head to the east. The man was ac-companied by a child lying on the back with the head to the north, placed in a stone box attached to the eastern wall of the fence. The burial of the dog was in a pit placed in the aisle of the western wall of the fence. In the pit of the annex, there were remains of two horses: the complete carcass and the hinder part of the carcass. The grave goods were represented by a leather rendering and parts of a horse harness (iron stirrups and a bone belly buckle). The belts of the horse ammunition were adorned with silver and bronze decorations: badge-triplets, onlays, and buckle tips. To adjust the strain of the check-straps, a bronze buckle with an iron prong was used. Two horses showed traces of saddle bags containing iron adzes. The features of the funeral rituals and analysis of the material remains allow attributing the burials of the kurgan 1 of the Menovnoye XII burial ground to the Early Kimek period of the Turkic epoch within the 7th–8th centuries AD.

를 통해 본 무속적 질서의식과 삼신의 의미

This tries to reveal shamanistic order and the meaning of Samsin through the story of Danggomaegi. Shamanism has been with Koreans for a long time. But it has lost the original meaning by the infiltration of foreign religions. It deals with the shamanistic order and the meaning of Samsin of Danggomaegi to reveal the original meaning of our shamanism. It follows the description order of Danggomaegi. First, the chaos without Samsin. The chaos was caused by the absence of Samsin in the human world. It flows from question to answer, from chaos to order and from deficiency to sufficiency. Second, the collision of chaos and order to overcome hardness. Danggomaegi went through the hardness in which she was drived out from her family and contained in a stone box because of her baby as a single. It is the way from death to rebirth. A supporter gave her helps to go through the world of deficiency to the world of sufficiency. Third, the meaning of Samsin in the order of the rebirth as Samsin. The story of Danggomaegi describes the approval test of a son. The last test is blood congelation. After the last test, all the three brothers and Danggomaegi were elevated as divinities. Danggomaegi became Samsin, controlled pregnancy and treated illness without discrimination. The real Shaman tries to make the chaos orderly status.

The Hill Cumorah: Restoring a Sacred Site

The Hill Cumorah: Restoring a Sacred Site

О классификации погребальных сооружений могильников кобанской археологической культуры на территории современной Кабардино-Балкарии

Kabardino-Balkaria is a republic with a rich archaeological heritage. It represented archaeological sites from the Paleolithic era in its territory. The article proposes a classification of burial struc-tures of the Koban archaeological culture in this region. It is noted that their study makes it possi-ble to identify the features of the funeral rite of the local population and trace the dynamics of its ritual-ritual activity throughout the entire period of the existence of this culture. To do this, the article attempted to specify the typology proposed in 1989 by V.I. Kozenkova, considering the specifics of the funeral structures of the Koban culture identified on the territory of Kabardino-Balkaria. The work notes that the need for such a revision and clarification of known classifica-tions with the definition of local features on KBR materials is increasing against the background of a sharp increase in the number of burial structures discovered and the appearance of new stud-ies of Koban cultural monuments. During the study, funerary structures are classified considering their differentiation into simple and complex ones. There are considered 2 types of simple (burials in soil pits of oval, rectangular or underground rectangular forms and burials in stone boxes) and 3 types of complex burial structures (mounds with a stone cover with soil burials, mounds with stone boxes and stone cover from cobblestones and stone tombs). Each of the proposed funerary structures is characterized considering the division into subtypes. It was revealed that almost no burial ground of the Koban archaeological culture on the territory of the KBR can be traced to the observance of a single type of burial structure.

Архитектура каменных сооружений эпохи бронзы в окрестностях Бурабая

The article deals with the materials of the study of ancient religious buildings of the Bronze Age at the Kyzyltobe burial ground. The architecture of buildings, the funeral rite, and the accompanying inventory are described, the technological methods used in the extraction of materials used in construction are considered. As a result of the work carried out, four fences were excavated at the burial ground: No. 9, 13, 29, 50. The burial, located in enclosure No. 9, was made in a dirt pit with a dromos designed in the form of a tambour, which obliquely enters the eastern wall of the grave pit under the stone ring of the tomb enclosure. The ashes of a cremated person were located on a flat wooden dish, located in a stone box in fence No. 13. Inside enclosure No. 29, two burials were found, made according to the rite of inhumation: an adult — in the main enclosure, a children's — in an extension. In enclosure number 50, a monumental stone box without a burial was fixed and examined, in the center of which a granite stone lay at the bottom. The box is covered with large slabs, in the center of which there is a round opening. A petroglyph of a deer was found on one of the side walls of the box. Soil burial pits, stone cists, burials according to the rite of cremation and accompanying inventory in the form of ornamented ceramic vessels, located in fenced areas, studied at the Kyzyltobe burial ground, find analogies in the burial grounds of Borovoye, Buyrekkol and Obali. These monuments are located in the vicinity of Burabay and belong to the Fedorov archaeological culture. The new fixed elements of the burial structures are the dromos and the stone box with an opening in the ceiling. The image of a deer on the wall of the box is a remarkable fact in itself; the image of a deer is one of the motifs of animal-style art. Perhaps this is an echo of totemism. According to radiocarbon analysis of bone material from fence No. 29, the Kyzyltobe burial site dates back to the 18th–17th centuries BC.

НОВЫЕ НАХОДКИ КАМЕННЫХ СТЕЛ НА АРХЕОЛОГИЧЕСКИХ ПАМЯТНИКАХ КОЧЕВНИКОВ В СЕВЕРО-ЗАПАДНОМ АЛТАЕ

The article presents the results of the study of stone stelae discovered during the study of the sites of the Scythian era of the Chinetinsky archaeological microdistrict, located in the Krasnoshchekovsky district of the Altai Territory. In the course of the study of barrow No. 34 at the burial ground of Khankarinsky Dol, a stone box was found, which was covered with stone slabs and steles. The excavated barrow belongs to the so-called. korgantas type of sites and is dated to the second half of the 5th-4th centuries. BC. At the same time, it was established that some steles, considering the presence of characteristic morphological features, can be attributed to the circle of sites of the Biyken culture. Another stone stele was found in the mound of one unexcavated kurgan, discovered during the survey of the territory near the village of Taly Klyuch. New finds of stone stelae mark the northern boundary of the distribution of the Biyken culture sites in the zone of contacts with the bearers of the Mayemir cultural tradition.

Раннескифское погребение с металлическим зеркалом из Северного Алтая

The article is devoted to the introduction into scientific circulation and cultural and chronological interpretation of object No. 20 of the Karban-I necropolis. This complex, located in the Chemal district of the Altai Republic, was partially explored in 1989-1990 by expedition of the Barnaul State Pedagogical University (now Altai State Pedagogical University). During the excavations of mound No. 20, located in the western part of the necropolis, a burial of a young woman in a stone box was revealed. An analysis of the recorded signs of ritual practice allows us to attribute this object to the Biyke archaeological culture of the early Scythian period. The appearance of the accompanying inventory, which includes a few decorations, as well as a metal mirror, is also characteristic of the object complex of the nomads of the indicated period. Taking into account the recorded characteristics of the complex, as well as the results of radiocarbon dating, it seems possible to determine the period of construction of the published burial within the second half of the 8th — first half of the 6th centuries BC.

ТЮРКСКОЕ ПОГРЕБЕНИЕ КОМПЛЕКСА АК-ДАГ (ЗАПАДНАЯ ТУВА): ПО МАТЕРИАЛАМ РАСКОПОК М.Х. МАННАЙ-ООЛА

The article presents an early medieval burial excavated in the Ak-Dag complex by an expedition led by M.Kh. Mannai-ool in 1963. This site is located 4 km northwest to the Aldan-Maadyr village, in the Sut-Khol district of the Tyva Republic. The studied object was a burial mound of a man with a horse. The fixed common features of this complex (a small rounded mound; a shallow grave; the orientation of the deceased to the east, accompanied by an animal laid in the opposite direction), as well as rarer characteristics (intra-grave structure in the form of a stone box made of thin slabs; the position of the horse on the back) indicate on its belonging to the circle of sites of the early medieval Turks. The absence of dating finds makes it possible to determine the chronology of the burial within the broad framework of the second half of the 1st millennium AD with a possible narrowing within the second half of the 6th - 8th centuries AD.

Pazyryk-type burial and petroglyphs of the Tausamaly archaeological complex

The article presents the results of a research work carried out at the archaeological complex of Tausamaly. The complex consists of a large burial ground and accumulations of petroglyphs. The monuments are in the Aksu district of the Zhetysu region of the Republic of Kazakhstan. In barrow No. 1, a paired burial of the Pazyryk culture, accompanied by three horses, was found in a tiered stone box. A large number of petroglyphs, tamgas and signs were found near the burial ground. A few petroglyphs have pictorial analogies in Southern Siberia and the eastern regions of Central Asia Graphic symbols are divided into several groups. The first group is represented by symbols that differ from each other by various additional elements in the form of dots and lines, as well as being in composition with the figure of an animal. The second group is tamga-shaped signs in the form of a dumbbell-shaped figure. Signs have different sizes, and various additional elements, in the form of dotted and linear knockouts located side by side. The materials of the burial ground and petroglyphs date back to the 4th-2nd centuries BC