Ancient monuments of the Karaganda region -
Ancient history of Kazakhstan and sacred places -
The burial and memorial complex "Mound of 37 Warriors" is located in a picturesque place in the Karaganda region in the heart of the Kazakh steppes, at an altitude of 882 meters above sea level. It is located in a picturesque intermountain basin, like a natural amphitheater, surrounded by low but expressive mountain peaks: Korpetay in the northwest (1266 m), Tolebay in the northeast, Nurtai in the southeast and Karatas in the southwest. This ancient archaeological site, dating back to the early Iron Age (Saka era), is a complex and thoughtful composition of stone structures. The central element is a majestic burial mound with a diameter of 35 meters, built of carefully selected stones. Next to it is a smaller burial mound (11 m in diameter, 0.63 m high), from which two parallel stone ridges about 100 meters long diverge to the east - the so-called "whiskers", giving the complex a special expressiveness.
But the real calling card of the place became 37 small burial mounds, lined up in an arc to the north of the central structure. Their diameter varies from 5 to 8 meters, and the height does not exceed 0.6 meters. The entire space of the complex (about 480 meters long) is decorated with numerous menhirs - vertically standing stone steles up to 2 meters high, of which there are 136. The history of the study of this mysterious place began in 1952, when the Central Kazakhstan archaeological expedition led by Alkey Margulan conducted the first excavations. The researchers opened four small burial mounds, finding fragments of pottery and bones of domestic animals. A new stage of research began in 1997, when the Saryarka expedition conducted detailed topographic work and compiled precise drawings of the complex.
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