Boralday (archaeological site)

Boralday (Kazakh: Боралдай), also Taksai, is a kurgan necropolis in Almaty, Kazakhstan, dating to the early Iron Age and associated with the Saka people.[1] Located on the southeastern outskirts of the village of Boralday, the site comprises 47 burial mounds spread over 430 hectares on the left bank of the Bolshaya Almatinka River.

Taksai
Location of Taksai (), with contemporary cultures in the 6th century BCE
Geographical rangeSouth Siberia
Dates600-400 BCE
Major sites43.360278°N 76.857778°E / 43.360278; 76.857778
Preceded byKarasuk culture
Followed byAldy-Bel culture, Pazyryk culture, Tagar culture
Pendant, Taksai I kurgan 6, 6-5th century BCE.

The site was discovered in 1990[2] and was declared a protected monument in 2010.[3] There are plans to turn the site into a museum.[4][5]

The complex was first scientifically described and registered by the archaeologist Ageeva in 1956.[6]

Archaeological Park "Boralday Sak Barrows"
Gold appliqués in the form of a ram’s head, Barrow 6 of Taksai I, Kazakhstan

By Decree No. 1/185-390 of the Almaty City Akimat on March 28, 2006, the territory occupied by the kurgans was transferred under the jurisdiction of the Museum of Almaty to create a unique open-air museum – Archaeological Park "Borolday Sak Barrows", which should include an archaeological park and ethnopark "Monuments of nomadic architecture and life of the Kazakh people".[7]

In 2016, M. M. Nurpeisov, scientific secretary of the Association of Museums of Almaty, specified that the main direction of development is the idea of an ecopark. It is planned that there will be small groves around, and in the central part of the park, where the mounds themselves are located, the landscape should be preserved as much as possible.[8]

On May 27, 2017, the park hosted a festival of nomadic culture, where visitors could actually see the "Sarmatian Priestess," which was found in the Taksai 1 mound, gold jewelry, and items of Saka culture. Visitors also took part in a subbotnik to beautify the park's territory.[9]

Necropolis
Taksai I, kurgan 6, 5th–4th century BCE. H. 46.0 cm. Collection of the National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan

The necropolis comprises 430 hectares and includes 47 mounds from the Saka period from the 5th to the 3rd centuries BC. The necropolis is located in chains in the south–north and South-West-North-East. The burial ground is 3 km long and 800 meters wide. The height of the largest mound, which is located in the center of the necropolis, is 14 meters, and the diameter is 100 meters. There are also several mounds with a height of 5–6 meters and a diameter of 60–80 meters. Medium-sized mounds have a height of 3 meters and a diameter of 30–40 meters, and the small ones have a height of 1–1,5 meters and a diameter of 10–20 meters. The dry climate conditions in the area have preserved and mummified remains, including human remains, clothing, and various objects. A burial area for horses has also been found.[10]

Monument status

On November 10, 2010, a new State List of Historical and Cultural Monuments of Local Significance in Almaty was approved, simultaneously with which all previous decisions on this subject were declared null and void. In this decree, the status of the Boroldai Mounds as a monument of local importance was retained. The boundaries of the protection zones were approved in 2014.[11]

References
Saka kurgans[12]
Arzhan-1c. 800 BCE
Shiliktyc. 700 BCE
Arzhan-2c. 650 BCE
Bes Shatyrc. 550 BCE
Taksaic. 600-400 BCE
Eleke Sazyc. 600-400 BCE
Berel-1c. 350 BCE
Pazyryk-1,2c. 300 BCE
Berel-11c. 300 BCE
Issykc. 400-200 BCE
  1. "Что ждет казахстанский Стоунхендж?". voxpopuli.kz. 5 May 2016. Retrieved 2017-12-25.
  2. "Открыт новый экскурсионный маршрут в Боралдайские царские курганы". kt.kz. Retrieved 2017-12-25.
  3. "Об утверждении Государственного списка памятников истории и культуры местного значения города Алматы – ИПС "Әділет"". adilet.zan.kz. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
  4. "Berel mounds will turn into museum · Publications · "Kazakhstan History" portal". e-history.kz. Retrieved 2017-12-25.
  5. "Сакские курганы в Алматы могут стать аналогом Долины пирамид | Все права защищены". inform.kz. 5 July 2017. Retrieved 2017-12-25.
  6. "Статьи – Статьи – Курганные могильники ранних кочевников северо-восточной части Алма-Атинской области". www.arheology.kz (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2019-04-27. Retrieved 2021-12-14.
  7. "Археологический парк "Боралдайские сакские курганы" | Энциклопедия". 2017-04-22. Archived from the original on 2017-04-22. Retrieved 2022-08-18.
  8. "Музей, которому не нужны стены". kazpravda.kz (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-08-18.
  9. "Открытие археологического парка "Боралдайские Сакские Курганы" | Atameken Business". 2019-02-02. Archived from the original on 2019-02-02. Retrieved 2022-08-18.
  10. "Боралдай, курганы | Энциклопедия". 2017-04-25. Archived from the original on 2017-04-25. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
  11. "Об утверждении границ охранных зон, зон регулирования застройки и зон охраняемого природного ландшафта объектов историко-культурного наследия города Алматы – ИПС "Әділет"". 2020-11-27. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 2022-08-18.
  12. Image file with complete data, Amir, Saltanat; Roberts, Rebecca C. (2023). "The Saka 'Animal Style' in Context: Material, Technology, Form and Use". Arts. doi:10.3390/arts12010023.

Further reading

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.