KARAGANDA, KAZAKHSTAN—Archaeologists have unearthed a Bronze Age burial mound constructed of five walls in northern Kazakstan. "It's made from stone, earth, and fortified by slabs in the outer side," Saryarka Archaeological Institute researcher Viktor Novozhenov told Live Science. The height of the mausoleum's walls increases gradually the closer they are to the mound's center, which led some news outlets to compare the mausoleum to the step pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara, Egypt. But Novozhenov points out that the mound was at most six feet tall, much smaller than the pyramid in Saqqara, which was built some 1,000 years earlier. Though the tomb had been looted, the team found late Bronze Age pottery as well as a bronze knife near its main chamber, which likely once held the remains of a chieftain or clan leader. To read more about Bronze Age archaeology on the Eurasian steppes, go to "Wolf Rites of Winter."
Bronze Age Mausoleum Unearthed in Kazakhstan
News August 18, 2016
Recommended Articles
Digs & Discoveries September/October 2024
Seahenge Sings
Features September/October 2024
Hunting for the Lost Temple of Artemis
After a century of searching, a chance discovery led archaeologists to one of the most important sanctuaries in the ancient Greek world
Digs & Discoveries May/June 2024
Near Eastern Lip Kit
-
Features July/August 2016
Franklin’s Last Voyage
After 170 years and countless searches, archaeologists have discovered a famed wreck in the frigid Arctic
(Courtesy Parks Canada, Photo: Marc-André Bernier) -
Letter from England July/August 2016
Stronghold of the Kings in the North
Excavations at one of Britain’s most majestic castles help tell the story of an Anglo-Saxon kingdom
(Colin Carter Photography/Getty Images) -
Artifacts July/August 2016
Spanish Horseshoe
(Courtesy Peter Eeckhout) -
Digs & Discoveries July/August 2016
Is it Esmeralda?
(Courtesy David Mearns)