A first in Turkish history: 3,800-year-old hexagonal burial mound discovered

In Kazakhstan, a 3,800-year-old hexagonal burial mound has been found.

Many mounds within the Kazakh steppe, with a deep historical past, bear symbols and markings on their stones.

The Archaeology Department of L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University carried out excavations on the Kırküngir Monument close to the Toktamış Batyr village within the Abay district of Eastern Kazakhstan from 2020 to 2023. Over 100 monuments from the Early Bronze Age to the Göktürk Period within the Kırküngir area have been examined.

Ulan Umitkaliyev, the Head of the Archaeology and Ethnology Department at L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, shared particulars concerning the Kırküngir monument for the primary time with TRT Haber.

“Kırküngir monument belongs to the Turkish culture.”

The elite tombs of the Early Bronze Age at Kırküngir have been extensively researched.

Ulan Umitkaliyev emphasised, “By placing and developing the horse culture, we can say that Kırküngir Monument is significant in the history of all Turkish peoples, identifying the spread of the Turkish clan across the world.”

“Seen in a hexagonal style, the Kırküngir burial mound demonstrates the high level of development in the processing of monumental stones and architectural techniques of the Andronovo societies during the Bronze Age,” stated Ulan Umitkaliyev.

The diameter of the elite tomb is 43 meters, with a top of two.3 meters. The construction comprises three preservation compartments. The outer partitions, made of enormous megalithic stones, are hexagonal in form. The different compartments resulting in the burial chamber are constructed in an oval form. The diameter of the second passage is 12 meters, and the third part is 6 meters in diameter. Human and horse bones discovered throughout the 2021 excavation have been examined by a staff led by Mr. Yu Itashahi from Tsukuba University in Japan.

Radiocarbon information revealed that the Kırküngir Monument was constructed round 1859 BC, greater than 3,800 years in the past.

A monumental burial just like the Kırküngir Monument from the Bronze Age was constructed 4 centuries sooner than the Karakaraganda area’s Taldı River-side Karajartas Monument. The uniqueness of the Kırküngir Monument lies in its hexagonal architectural type, burial construction, rock work, and the custom of horse burials, distinguishing it among the many Bronze Age monuments in Eurasia.

At every nook of the outer hexagonal construction, massive stone slabs exceeding roughly 1 meter have been discovered. On these 20 slabs forming the outer enclosure of the tomb, petroglyphs depicting varied animal figures have been recognized. Among the 20 pictorial compositions discovered on the doorway columns of the pyramidal construction are two camels, two people, an inner predator, 4 symbolic indicators, and 23 horse pictures.

Ulan Umitkaliyev states that based mostly on these pictures, it may be stated that the Kırküngir monument represents an vital side of the socio-economic actions and religious beliefs of the Andronovo communities in Kazakhstan.

The horse tradition in Kırküngir was not restricted to pictorial pictures however was additionally mirrored within the inside components of the burial website with horse bones. These findings point out the event of equestrian tradition as early because the Early Andronovo Age, opposite to identified perceptions.

“At increased sixteen times the walking speed of humans, the horse enabled our Turkish ancestors to spread across the world and establish great steppe cultures,” Umitkaliyev remarks.

“A first in Turkish history: 3,800-year-old hexagonal burial mound discovered”

The use of horses for driving functions in Eurasian steppes throughout this era formed a nomadic steppe tradition between summer time and winter pastures. This utilization of horses for driving actions and opening pastures for animal breeding led to the emergence of steppe empires identified in historic sources because the Scythians, Huns, and Göktürks.

Ulan Umitkaliyev evaluates, “It’s observed that the depictions of horses and camels frequently found in granite stone-surrounded burial grounds among Andronovo communities carry significant cultural value. These images have found their place in Kazakh folklore as the leaders of camels, symbolized by Oyshil Kara, and the masters of horses, embodied by Kambar (Kamber) Ata.”

“One of the earliest sacred burial sites in Turkish culture”

Ulan Umitkaliyev emphasizes that the hexagonal construction of the Kırküngir mound belongs to Turkish tradition:

Considering that this complicated construction encompasses monuments from the Bronze Age to the Turkish interval, we are able to say that it is likely one of the earliest sacred burial websites in Turkish tradition. This is as a result of steady improvement of the distinctive horse tradition amongst Turks and the elevation of the horse to a totemic image inside the burial space.

“Turks’ ethnogenetic origins can be clearly identified through these burial sites”

“The tribes that lived in Kazakhstan during the Andronovo period can be specifically designated as the earliest period shaping Kazakh ethnogenesis and generally as the inception of Turkish culture, beliefs, and anthropological origins. Interdisciplinary studies will be necessary to shed clearer light on these perspectives. As an archaeologist and historian, I can explicitly state that the ethnogenetic origins of Turkish peoples can be identified through these burial sites.”

The present-day territories of Kazakhstan, the place the Kırküngir Monument is positioned, stand among the many areas the place Turkish tribes emerged onto the world stage. Archaeological artifacts with tangible proof of Turks are discovered on this area. The most distinctive of those monuments is the hexagonal structured burial space recognized in Kırküngir.

Kurgan structure is likely one of the defining components of Turkish burial traditions.

Kurgans are mounds shaped by piling earth or lower stones onto the tomb chamber. The top of the mound was elevated in line with the significance of the deceased. It was believed that the emergence of early kurgan-style burial websites within the Eurasian steppes occurred throughout the Late Bronze Age. The discovery at Kırküngir means that this custom started to take form throughout the Early Bronze Age.

“A first in Turkish history: 3,800-year-old hexagonal burial mound discovered”

A fowl’s-eye view of the hexagonal kurgan resembles a tent.

One of the earliest intervals of the Andronovo tribes shaping Turkish tradition includes a life between summer time and winter quarters. This tent analogy, by way of historic continuity, demonstrates cultural connections between Kazakh or usually Turkish tribes and the Andronovo tradition.

The earliest details about kurgan constructions comes from Herodotus.

The earliest details about kurgan constructions is present in Herodotus’ ebook ‘Histories’. Herodotus, in his passage describing Scythian burial customs, mentions that when Scythian kings died, they have been taken in a cart to the furthest a part of their kingdom, known as the Gerros nation, and have been buried there. Through archaeological findings in present-day Southern Siberia and the Western Altai area, it was confirmed that the kurgans talked about by Herodotus have been from the Pazırık interval within the Western Altai area of South