A team of researchers has recently published the results of a comprehensive study on an impressive megalithic monument located in the Burabay district, in the Akmola region of Kazakhstan. The complex, named “Taskamal” by the local inhabitants, meaning “stone fortress” in Kazakh, features unique and monumental architecture that archaeologists believe could be closely linked to gold mining activities in the region during the second millennium BCE.
The research, which included meticulous documentation of the monument’s architecture, detailed topographic surveys, and archaeological excavations in the vicinity, has revealed a megalithic structure of complex design, skillfully integrated into the surrounding terrain.
Among the most notable architectural elements of the Taskamal complex is an extensive megalithic wall constructed with enormous granite blocks, complemented by a central elevated platform, two carefully designed access ramps, an external platform, several lithic stelae whose significance is yet to be determined, as well as petroglyphs and reliefs that could provide crucial clues about its function and cultural significance.
The preliminary dating of the monument to the second millennium BCE, based on analogies of individual elements of the complex, construction techniques, and archaeological features, notably the depiction of a reclining bull, places Taskamal in the context of the Late Bronze Age in Central Asia, a period of profound social, technological, and economic changes.
This proposed chronology takes on even greater significance when considered in the context of the rich archaeological landscape of the Burabay region and its surroundings, where approximately 46 Late Bronze Age sites, 90 ancient gold mines, and several cemeteries associated with the Fedorovo, Alakul, and Sargara-Alexeyev archaeological cultures, which flourished between 1800 and 900 BCE, have been documented.
The hypothesis that the Taskamal complex might have been associated with gold mining activities in the region during the Late Bronze Age is based not only on the presence of numerous gold deposits in the area and evidence of ancient mining nearby but also on the monumentality of the structure, which suggests a purpose of great importance to the prehistoric communities that built it.
The researchers cautiously propose, with the rigor that scientific investigation demands, that the complex could have functioned as a place of worship for ancient miners, an interpretation that, if confirmed, would shed light on the intricate relationships between economic, ritual, and social practices in the Bronze Age societies of Central Asia.
This discovery significantly contributes to the study of socioeconomic complexity in Central Asia during the Bronze Age, the development of gold metallurgy and its profound impact on prehistoric societies, as well as megalithic architectural traditions in a region that has often been overlooked in studies of megalithism.
However, the researchers are aware that much work remains to be done: they emphasize the need to obtain absolute dates to refine the site’s chronology, conduct geochemical analyses that could unequivocally confirm the complex’s connection to gold mining, and carry out broader regional studies to contextualize Taskamal within the vast and complex archaeological landscape of Central Asia.
SOURCES
Sergey Yarygin, Zerrin Aydın Tavukçu, Sergazy Sakenov, Megalithic structure from Burabay: Gold mining and cult communities of the Late Bronze Age of Northern Kazakhstan. Archaeological Research in Asia, Volume 39, September 2024, 100536. doi.org/10.1016/j.ara.2024.100536
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