Archaeologists uncover large Bronze Age city in Kazakhstan

ASTANA, Kazakhstan (MNTV) — Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of a vast Bronze Age city in northeastern Kazakhstan, offering new insights into early settlement patterns and trade networks across the Eurasian steppe, according to a study published Wednesday in Antiquity.

The Semiyarka settlement — known as the “City of Seven Ravines” — dates to around 1600 B.C. and may have supported 300 to 1,000 inhabitants. 

Stretching across 346 acres along the Irtysh River, the site contains rows of mud-brick homes and evidence that residents relied heavily on livestock, including horse meat and milk.

Dan Lawrence, a landscape archaeologist at Durham University and co-author of the study, said Semiyarka stands out among steppe sites. 

“The settlements we do have tend to be tiny, with just a handful of houses, while Semiyarka is massive,” he said.

Although identified in the early 2000s, new drone surveys and excavations have produced a clearer picture of the settlement. Researchers uncovered around 20 mud-brick houses encircled by earthen banks that may have served as defensive walls. To the southeast, they found extensive traces of metalworking — crucibles, ore, slag and finished bronze artifacts.

“Semiyarka is the only site in the lowland steppe zone where we have evidence for advanced metallurgy on such a large scale,” Lawrence said. 

“Its existence changes our interpretation of the region, showing strong connections between upland and lowland communities and long-distance trade.”

Life at Semiyarka was harsh, with long, frigid winters likely forcing residents into sturdy, insulated dwellings. Many inhabitants may have worked in metal production, smelting copper and tin or panning for tin in the river.

Pottery fragments link the settlement to Late Bronze Age cultures such as the barley-growing Cherkaskul and the sheep-herding Alekseyevka-Sargary groups, underscoring its role as a crossroads of steppe traditions.