Part II Archaeological Excavations - Center for the Study of Eurasian ...

Kurgans, Ritual Sites, and Settlements: Eurasian Bronze and Iron Age
Sea maritime zone, while to the south it is defined by Lake
Sarykamysh and the Uzboi Valley. 1 A wide depression (a dried
up sea bay) separates the Ustyurt Plateau from the Caspian Kara
Bogaz Gol (bay) and the low Mangyshlak plateau to the west;
the northern edge of the Ustyurt Plateau is not steep and gradually
merges into the Caspian Sea lowland valleys.
No lakes, rivers, or mature vegetation are on the Ustyurt, but
sweet and salty water is obtained from deep wells. The current
ecological situation of the plateau is extremely harsh; essentially
there is no rain, and during the summer the temperature
can reach up to 47 degrees celsius. In winter it is virtually impossible
to survive on the plateau due to the constant strong
winds and temperatures dropping as low as 30 degrees celsius.
The severe climatic conditions in Ustyurt have changed little
over the last three thousand years and consequently, because
of the harsh environment, it is generally assumed it would have
been impossible for large populations to have lived on the plateau
during the Early Iron Age. The discovery of two archaeological
sanctuary sites on western Ustyurt near the Baite Wells
in 1983, preliminarly dated to between the 4 th –2 nd centuries BC,
was completely unexpected.
Site description
Analysis of the Baite sanctuaries has revealed that they are
a unique complex of sites of a type previously unknown
throughout the Eurasian steppes. Archaeological expeditions
conducted over several years in western Ustyurt and
Mangyshlak have discovered more than a dozen other sanctuaries
similar to the Baite examples. These other complexes
are less impressive than the Baite sanctuaries in terms of
size and the number of statues (Samashev and Olkhovskiy
1996; Olkhovskiy and Galkin 1997). All of the sanctuaries
display a number of common features including their location
on hills; the existence of one to five mounds or moundshaped
embankments; up to 35 stone anthropomorphic statues;
round and rectangular stone altars; and dozens of small
stone sacrificial memorial structures (Olkhovskiy and
Galkin 1990). By the time the sites were discovered all the
statues had fallen from their original positions and a large
number appear to have been deliberately destroyed. It is
possible that some of the destruction may have occurred
during antiquity.
The sanctuaries
The discovery of the Baite sanctuaries has raised a number of
important questions, namely who, when, and for what purpose
were these sanctuaries created in an almost inaccessible desert,
far from the centers of the ancient civilizations? The sites are
also important as repositories for an expressive anthropomorphic
art style. Previously it was thought that the Sarmatian,
Saka, and Massagetae tribes, who lived in the western Asian
steppes, were familiar only with “Animal Style.” The results
of a research program conducted over a several decades by a
joint Russian-Kazakhstan expedition has enabled us to gain
valuable insights into these issues.
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Plans of the sanctuaries Baite III, Teren, and Karamunke indicate
that a round cultic construction up to 10 m in diameter, or
a large mound, was the main structural features of the sanctuaries
(Fig. 2). The cultic structures were composed of large
stone blocks that formed a circular wall approximately 1.5–2
m in height, with a width of up to 1 m. A narrow passageway
generally provided access into the interior of the structure. No
remains of construction debris or household refuse was recovered
from the interior of the cultic structure or from the entire
sanctuary territory; thus we are of the opinion that the sanctuaries
deliberately were kept clean. The circular cultic constructions
have parallels with Zoroastrian dakhma, although no human
bones or traces of burials synchronous with the sanctuaries
have been recovered.
The sculptures
The anthropomorphic sculptures are the most dramatic feature
of the sanctuaries (Olkhovskiy 1994). Although they had fallen
and were no longer in situ, it was possible to identify their original
location because of their preserved foundation pits. It became
clear that the statues had been positioned in groups composed
of two to four monuments, and that each group had been
located approximately 1–2 m from the next. The number of
sculptures located in each sanctuary ranged from one or two
up to as many as 35, and a total of approximately 100 statues
have been recovered. Although the majority of the statues were
broken, it was possible to reconstruct most of the monuments
from broken fragments. A cluster of tall statues (approximately
3–4 m high), undoubtedly, would have made a strong visual
impression
The statues had been rather skillfully made, and provide evidence of
ancient masons’ stone working skills; the precision with which the
sculptors executed minute details enables one to authentically reconstruct
the ethnographic appearance of the earliest inhabitants of the
Aral-Caspian steppes. In general, each sculpture represents a standing
man, his right arm lowered and his left arm, clasping the stomach,
is bent at the elbow (Figs. 3–6). The faces are very expressive with
almond-shaped eyes; a clear cut forehead that gradually transforms
into an elongated straight nose; a thin drooping mustache and a small
mouth. In addition, a number of the statues also have wrinkles clearly
incised into the cheeks (Fig. 7). Although the majority of the sculptures
display European facial characteristics, others have wide flattened
faces, a lack of beards, and pronounced cheek-bones, features
that are characteristically Mongoloid. It should be noted that
paleoanthropological studies have indicated that peoples of Europoid-
Mongoloid admixture lived in the eastern Caspian region during the
Early Iron Age (Samashev et al 1997).
Their costume and assessories are also indicated. A wide leather belt
with a metallic buckle, sometimes decorated with embroidery or
appliqué, appears to have been an obligatory element of a warrior’s
outfit (Fig. 3). A double-edged sword in a sheath was hung from the
belt front by two straps (Figs. 5 and 6), and a gorytus (quiver) was
attached to the left side of the belt. The Bow in the gorytus small and
sigma-shaped (Figs. 4 and 8), and of the type typically used by the
Eurasian nomads during the Scythian-Sarmatian period.