Research of medieval cult monuments of Akmola Upper Ishim (based on 2018 exploration material)

Abstract

In the summer of 2018, the reconnaissance detachment of the K.A. Akishev Research Institute of Archeology conducted surveys in two areas of the Northern Saryarka: in the upper Ishim and Tengiz-Korgalzhyn oasis. The purpose of this study is to search for archaeological monuments of antiquity and the Middle Ages in the study area. The system of lakes Tengiz-Korgalzhyn depression and upper Nura river are attractive for settlement, both in antiquity and in the present. However, this territory is still poorly understood. In the work we applied the methods of remote survey of archaeological objects, including mapping with an indication of the coordinates of the monument in the global positioning system, description, photography. During the exploration, we recorded a number of objects previously unknown to this region. They are moats stretching from lakes at a distance of 50 to 350 m. The question of the purpose of these structures remains important and incomprehensible. Discovered during the exploration monuments were divided into 3 groups. We also conducted an audit of previously studied monuments: the Zhanibek-Shalkar and Batagai mausoleums. The use of new methods in their study allowed us to identify new characteristics of these objects. We analyzed published sources for a comprehensive study of these medieval religious objects.