Archeology and archaeological sites in Kazakhstan -
Archaeological research tourism in Kazakhstan -
In the vast expanses of Central Kazakhstan, where the steppe stretches beyond the horizon, like a reflection of ancient times, strange and majestic tombstone structures rise – mounds with "moustaches". These mysterious monuments, like forgotten landmarks of ancient worlds, have been of great interest to researchers for more than half a century. In the late 1950s, they became the subject of separate scientific attention. As a result of archaeological work, M. K. Kadyrbayev solved one of their main mysteries: he determined the purpose of these mysterious complexes and identified four of their varieties. Over time, mounds with "moustaches" were found outside Central Kazakhstan – in the Upper Irtysh region and even in other lands where it would seem they should not be. And yet, despite the two-hundred-year history of archaeological research in Eastern Kazakhstan, such monuments remained unknown here until recently.
In the Early Iron Age, the vast expanses of Sary-Arka were inhabited by tribes that left behind a special mark – strange, stable funerary complexes. In open steppes, in mountain valleys and on river banks, from west to east, from north to south, there are mounds with earthen and stone mounds – monumental structures that have received a not entirely successful but resonant name in the scientific literature – the mounds with moustaches. They did not create huge burial grounds: there were rarely more than 10-15 such mounds in one place. Usually, for every five to ten ordinary mounds, there was one mound with stone ridges.
However, this ratio was not uniform. The Ulutau, Shetsky, Aktogay and Karkaralinsky districts of the Karaganda (now Ulytau) region became the center of concentration of such monuments. Here, in the very heart of the Kazakh smallholder, the mounds with moustaches seemed to sprout from the very ground. In more remote regions, their number gradually decreased. In the west, their distribution range covered the Ulutau Mountains and the upper reaches of the Ishim, in the north – the southern edges of Kokshetau, up to Shchuchinsk and Borovoye, in the east – the low hills of the Pavlodar region and the districts of Chingiztau. The southern border reached the northern outskirts of the Balkhash region and the mysterious Betpak-Dala. But even outside this area, rare "travelers of the past" still met – mounds of this type were discovered in the Volga region, in Southern Kazakhstan, and even in Semirechye.
These amazing monuments have become one of the key features of the Tasmolin culture, distinguishing it from the many cultures of the Scythian period. What makes them so remarkable?
Today we know that mounds with "moustaches" are complex funerary and memorial complexes. They consist of a large mound with a human burial, a small mound with a horse burial, and two stone ridges, "moustaches," extending to the east, stretching for tens and sometimes hundreds of meters. These stone ridges resembled semi-arcs and often ended in round stone rings – like a gateway to another world.
A large mound concealed a man's grave, usually accompanied by a rich inventory. The small mound, devoid of a real grave pit, sheltered the remains of a horse, a powerful companion of the deceased in the afterlife. Often, one or two clay vessels were placed nearby, as if they were messengers from the world of the living.
There were several variants of the mounds. Sometimes the small mound was located on the south side of the large one, forming double monuments of the same size. In other cases, the small mound was layered directly on top of the large one, merging with it into a single whole. But always, invariably, the structure of the complex was preserved: the burial of a man, a horse and a stone moustache stretching strictly to the east — towards the rising sun, towards the world of a new day.
Even with the change in layout, the rite was invariably preserved: in the twin mounds, the burial was in the northern mound, and the bones of the horse and the vessel were in the southern one. A unique case was recorded in Karabakh when a small mound was placed directly on top of a large one. And yet, even here, under a layer of stones, archaeologists have found a clay vessel, as if protecting an ancient ritual from time.
Unusual mounds, such as the famous Mound 19 from the Tasmola burial ground, did not have a separate small mound at all — the functions of the ritual companion were taken over by the large mound itself, where fragments of clay vessels were found under the embankment in the eastern part, and a burial chamber in the center.
The design features of the stone moustache are still full of mysteries. In 1958, in the Sangru tract, a researcher studied the stone ridges, but their ruined state did not allow the restoration of the entire plan of the ancient masters. One thing is clear — these were not just stone paths. These were structures where stone slabs mounted vertically and surrounded by debris formed amazing architectural links, sometimes resembling chains of mounds.
Sometimes the ridges ended with a round stone fence. Sometimes they consisted of circular structures interconnected with each other. The diameters of these rings ranged from one and a half to two and a half meters, forming mysterious "chains" on the surface of the steppe.
Under the large mounds, single burials were hidden in oval pits up to two meters in length. These pits were overlain by powerful slabs and contained bodies stretched out on their backs, gazing upward into the unknown.
Ordinary mounds of the second type had mounds of stone or mixed material. They were often surrounded by moats and rings of wild stone. Burials in them were as strict in ritual as in the mounds with moustaches. Everything pointed to the preservation of the same ancient ritual for centuries — from the 7th to the 3rd centuries BC.
Only in the mounds of the early stage of the Tasmolian culture — in Tasmol I, V and VI — pits were excavated with the expectation that after burial a third of their area would remain empty. What this mysterious symbolism meant is anyone's guess.
These are the main features of the barrows with moustaches, the silent guardians of the great steppe, which preserve the secrets of the vanished peoples, their beliefs, and their aspirations for eternity. They still stand today, scattered across the vast expanses of Sary-Arka, like invisible signs on the path of the eternal journey of the soul between the worlds.
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