Archaeological Excavations of the Medieval Settlement of Sarayshyk
From September 4 to December 4, 2023, comprehensive archaeological research was conducted at the site of the medieval settlement of Sarayshyk. The project was supervised by museum director M. Kipiev, with candidate of historical sciences M. Kasenov serving as scientific director of the excavations, and doctor of historical sciences, professor, and chief researcher of the Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology of Al-Farabi KazNU M. Yeleuov as consultant. The excavation team included M.A. Kalshabayev, archaeologist T. Userov, and specialists Y. Tlekkabylov, R. Kuanov, and M. Abdigaliyev.
The research uncovered silver and copper coins of the Golden Horde, minted with Arabic inscriptions and vegetal ornamentation, numerous ceramic vessels and wares, ornaments, animal bones, and metal objects. A particularly significant discovery was the first Golden Horde–period gold ornament ever found during excavations at the Sarayshyk settlement. Until this time, such artifacts had not been uncovered at the site. The total excavation area amounted to 3,000 sq. m. At depths of 10–50 cm, numerous mausoleums made of fired brick were revealed, preserved from 3 to 12 rows in height. After clearing the mausoleums, remains from two and eight burials were transferred for anthropological study to R. Zhanuzak, head of the laboratory of physical anthropology of the A. Margulan Institute of Archaeology. He conducted an analysis of the skeletal remains by age, sex, physical and racial-typological features, as well as osteological constitution and body proportions.
