Bronze Age

A large ancient city has been unearthed in central Asia, shedding light on the area’s industrial history and ranking it as “one of the most notable archaeological discoveries in this region in decades”, according to the lead author of a new historical report on the site.

The report, produced by researchers from Durham University and University College London in the United Kingdom, as well as Toraighyrov University in Kazakhstan, offers the most complete picture to date of what Semiyarka, the “City of Seven Ravines”, may have been like in its prime more than 3,500 years ago.

Located in the Kazakh steppe, a vast grassland that covers northern Kazakhstan and parts of Russia, Semiyarka spanned about 350 acres and is currently the largest known ancient settlement in that region, according to the report. Originated around the year 1600 BC. During the Bronze Age, the city was one of the few production centers at the time and the first in the Kazakh steppe now known to have bronze production capabilities.

This is important for understanding the early communities of the steppe region, the researchers said, as the archaeological evidence of Semiyarka’s well-organized metal economy challenges previous beliefs that such societies did not exist in the area when Semiyarka did. The ancient city, named “Seven Ravines” due to its location overlooking multiple valleys, developed during a period when nomadic people began to form permanent or semi-permanent settlements.

Previously, researchers thought that only semi-nomadic people lived in the Kazakh steppe at that time. But what they found after years of archaeological exploration of Semiyarka indicates that the site was not only a large-scale metals producer but, potentially, a crucial trading post with regional power. Its size, along with the remains of its manufacture, “highlight its potential importance in advancing our understanding of regional settlement patterns, social organization and technology,” the researchers wrote in their report.

“This is one of the most notable archaeological discoveries in this region in decades. Semiyarka changes the way we think about steppe societies,” said Miljana Radivojević, an archaeological researcher at University College London and lead author of the report, in a statement released by the university. “This demonstrates that mobile communities could build and sustain permanent, organized settlements centered on a likely large-scale industry: a true steppe ‘urban centre’.”

Researchers at Toraighyrov University initially identified Semiyarka in the early 2000s, but the town had never been thoroughly investigated until now.

“I have been investigating Semiyarka for many years with the support of Kazakh national research funding,” said Viktor Merz of Toraighyrov University, who initially identified Semiyarka two decades ago and co-authored the new report, “but this collaboration has really elevated our understanding of the site.”