8 August 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Megalithic structure found in Kazakhstan was probably a place of worship for miners in the Bronze Age

Archaeologists investigating a megalithic monument in the Burabay district of the Akmola region of Kazakhstan have revealed that the monument may have been closely linked to gold mining activities in the region in the 2nd millennium BC and may possibly have been a place of worship for miners.

The results of the research were published by Dr. Sergey Yarygin and Dr. Sergazy Sakenov, researchers of the Margulan Archaeological Institute, and Zerrin Aydın Tavukçu, Associate Professor at Ataturk University in Türkiye.

The monument received the name “Taskamal” (from the Kazakh language “Stone fortress”) from residents and tourists due to its monumentality and characteristic masonry of granite blocks.

The research focuses on recording the monument’s architecture and understanding its cultural and chronological context, but it also provides important insights into the understanding of gold mining activities in the Late Bronze Age.

The Taskamal complex is home to some of the most remarkable architectural features, including a massive megalithic wall made of enormous granite blocks, an elevated platform in the center, two thoughtfully constructed access ramps, an external platform, several lithic stelae whose significance is yet to be unknown, and petroglyphs and reliefs that may hold important secrets about its purpose and cultural significance.

Taskamal structure in Kazakhstan was a place of worship for Bronze Age miners. Image Credit: Sergey Yarygin et al.Taskamal structure in Kazakhstan was a place of worship for Bronze Age miners. Image Credit: Sergey Yarygin et al.
Taskamal structure in Kazakhstan was a place of worship for Bronze Age miners. Image Credit: Sergey Yarygin et al.

Based on comparisons of the complex’s individual components, building methods, and archaeological features—most notably, the image of a reclining bull—the monument’s preliminary dating to the second millennium BCE places Taskamal in the context of Central Asia’s Late Bronze Age, a time of significant social, technological, and economic transformation.

This proposed chronology assumes even more significance in light of the rich archaeological landscape that surrounds the Burabay region and environs. These areas include several cemeteries connected to the Fedorovo, Alakul, and Sargara-Alexeyev archaeological cultures, which flourished between 1800 and 900 BCE, as well as approximately 46 Late Bronze Age sites and 90 ancient gold mines that have been documented.

Archaeologists believe that the Megalithic object was constructed during the time of gold mining activities in Burabay and was likely associated with gold extraction.

Like other communities in Northern Kazakhstan, the populations that lived in the Burabay during the Late Bronze Age took part in the extraction, processing, and international trade of polymetals. The high number of gold mines around Burabay provided evidence of exploitation in ancient times, indicating that the local communities were primarily focused on gold mining.

Structures in the Bronze Age megalithic site in Kazakhstan. Image Credit: Sergey Yarygin et al.

In addition to the numerous gold deposits in the area and the evidence of ancient mining nearby, the monumentality of the Taskamal complex suggests that it served a purpose of great importance to the prehistoric communities who built it. These factors support the hypothesis that the Taskamal complex may have been connected to gold mining activities in the Mid-Bronze Age.

If confirmed, this hypothesis will shed light on the complex relationships between economic, ritual, and social practices in Bronze Age societies in Central Asia.

However, the researchers emphasize the need to obtain precise dates to improve the site’s chronology, to conduct geochemical analyses that can definitively confirm the complex’s link to gold mining, and to conduct broader regional studies to contextualize Taskamal within the vast and complex archaeological landscape of Central Asia.

The research was published in the journal Archaeological Research in Asia.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ara.2024.100536

Cover Image: Sergey Yarygin et al.

Related Articles

The Oldest and Most Unique Example of the ‘Etrarchic Embracement Motif’ is on Display for the First Time

19 September 2024

19 September 2024

A relief depicting two Roman emperors’ embrace of Diocletian and Maximian during a ceremonial event, each other welcomes visitors for...

A bronze seal matrix of St George slaying the dragon has been discovered at the royal Château of Villers-Cotterêts in northern France

21 March 2022

21 March 2022

A previously unpublished and unknown bronze seal matrix of Saint George slaying the dragon has been discovered at the royal...

The ancient necropolis area in Turkey’s Antalya becomes a museum

22 July 2023

22 July 2023

The East Garage Necropolis Area, which was once a public market in the southern province of Antalya and where archaeological...

2,700-year-old Children’s Cemetery unearthed in Turkey’s Tenedos

2 March 2024

2 March 2024

A 2700-year-old children’s cemetery was discovered during ongoing excavations in the ancient city of Tenedos in Bozcaada,  southeast of the...

2500 Years of Animal Love in Termessos Ancient City

8 February 2021

8 February 2021

We are witnessing more and more of the unscrupulousness, cruelty and torture inflicted on our animal friends every day.These news...

Private lodges were uncovered in the colosseum of the ancient city of Pergamon

24 September 2021

24 September 2021

Private lodges built for the elite-class people to watch gladiator or wild animal fights shows have been unearthed in the...

New fortifications unearthed in Porsuk Mound excavations

11 August 2021

11 August 2021

In the excavations of Porsuk Mound, which is an important Hittite settlement and where traces of settlement remains can be...

Archaeologists opened an untouched Etruscan tomb

31 October 2023

31 October 2023

In Vulci Archaeological Park, central Italy, a 2,600-year-old intact double-chambered Etruscan tomb that was discovered in April and had remained...

Excavations at a 4th millennium BC settlement uncover evidence for the emergence and rejection of the earliest state institutions in Iraq

6 December 2024

6 December 2024

New excavations of the 4th-millennium B.C settlement at the archaeological site of Shakhi Kora, located in the Iraqi Kurdistan region...

Oldest Aboriginal pottery discovered in Far North Queensland

10 April 2024

10 April 2024

More than 2000 years ago, Aboriginal Australians were producing ceramics on a secluded island about 35 kilometers off the coast...

A 2,100-Year-Old Marble Statue of Mother Goddess Cybele Discovered in Ordu’s Ancient Kurul Castle

7 March 2025

7 March 2025

A breathtaking statue of the Mother Goddess Cybele, dating back 2100 years, was found at the historic Kurul Castle in...

Sensational find in Ephesus: more than 1,400-year-old district discovered

29 October 2022

29 October 2022

During this year’s excavations at Ephesus in Turkey, archaeologists from the Austrian Academy of Sciences (AW) discovered an incredibly well-preserved...

The sword, thought to be a replica, turned out to be an authentic 3000-year-old Bronze Age sword

22 January 2023

22 January 2023

A sword in Chicago’s Field Museum that was previously thought to be a replica has been revealed to be an...

Archaeologists discovered a Thracian tomb from the time of the Odrysian kingdom in southern Bulgaria

13 September 2023

13 September 2023

Archaeologists from the Haskovo Regional Museum of History discovered a third Thracian tomb with murals the likes of those in...

Vikings arrived in Newfoundland 1,000 years ago: Scientists

20 October 2021

20 October 2021

Vikings’ first permanent settlement in North America – the coastal outpost in Newfoundland known as L’Anse aux Meadows now has...