US EditionArchaeologists May Have Uncovered a Bronze Age Metropolis in Kazakhstan’s Steppe
Semiyarka, spanning 140 hectares, was a major Bronze Age urban center for large-scale tin bronze production and trade, reshaping views on steppe community settlements.
- On November 17, archaeologists revealed Semiyarka, a 3,500-year-old Bronze Age settlement spanning 140 hectares above the Irtysh River in north-east Kazakhstan.
- Around 1600 BC, Semiyarka emerged as semi-nomadic communities of the Kazakh Steppe began settling permanently near Altai Mountains' copper and tin, suggesting a regional trade and power centre.
- Excavations and surveys revealed crucibles, slag, and tin bronze artefacts indicating complex production and two rows of rectangular earthen mounds believed to be multi-room house foundations.
- The team says the discovery challenges assumptions by showing mobile steppe communities could build permanent settlements, and researchers plan follow-up investigations into production, trade and environment.
- The site may have been a node in Bronze Age metal networks, as its control of the Irtysh River valley and Altai Mountains resources suggests, researchers say.
17 Articles
17 Articles
A massive Bronze Age city hidden for 3,500 years just surfaced
An immense Bronze Age settlement has emerged from the Kazakh Steppe, revealing a surprisingly urban and industrial society where archaeologists once expected nomadic camps. At Semiyarka, researchers uncovered massive residential compounds, a possible ceremonial or administrative building, and an entire industrial zone dedicated to producing tin bronze—an extremely rare discovery for the region. The site’s strategic perch above trade routes and m…
Archaeologists may have uncovered a Bronze Age metropolis in Kazakhstan’s steppe
By Taylor Nicioli, CNN (CNN) — Upon the open grasslands of what is now Kazakhstan, there once stood a Bronze Age settlement that may have served as a center of exchange and power around 1600 BC. The settlement — called Semiyarka and nicknamed “The City of Seven Ravines” for its location overlooking a network of valleys — was first discovered in the early 2000s, but it wasn’t until an international group of archaeologists surveyed the area starti…
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