Tamgaly II South Terrace Petroglyphs
Таңбалы II Оңтүстік терраса · Tamgaly South Terrace · Tanbaly II South
Bronze Age to Early Nomadic·Andronovo-Fedorovo, Saka, Turkic·🇰🇿 Almaty Region, Zhambyl District, Chu-Ili mountains, Anrakay, Kazakhstan
About
About Tamgaly II South Terrace Petroglyphs
South-facing granodiorite terrace 600 m south-southeast of main Tamgaly Groups I–V, forming a 300-m bench with 86 boulders bearing ~280 petroglyphs distinct from north Kungei gorge focus. The terrace concentrates Late Bronze (c.1200–900 BCE) chariot groups with paired horses and Saka (c.700–300 BCE) naturalistic deer overlaying Andronovo sun-heads, providing the key stratigraphic superposition proving Tamgaly sequence: Bronze peck → Iron Age polishing → Turkic tamgas. Two Saka kurgans capping the terrace edge yielded Andronovo pottery and Saka golden appliqué, excavated 2008 UNESCO buffer campaign.
Why it mattersStratigraphic Rosetta for Tamgaly sequence: Bronze–Saka–Turkic superposition on single panels.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Why south terrace chariots have paired vs single horses
- 02Saka retouch intentional or reuse?
Theories
- 01Elite chariot warrior cemetery
- 02Seasonal solstice line from terrace to gorge notch
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.1400 BCE–600 CE (Andronovo to Turkic)
- Period
- Bronze Age to Early Nomadic
- Culture
- Andronovo-Fedorovo, Saka, Turkic
- Builders
- Chu-Ili pastoralist lineages
- Purpose
- Lineage cemetery terrace and chariot-status display above summer camps
- Abandoned
- c.800 CE
- Rediscovered
- 1958 Maximova; 2004 UNESCO buffer; 2008 Keller capping kurgan excavation
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.1300 BCE
Sun-head baseline
c.1000 BCE
Paired-horse chariot superposition
c.500 BCE
Saka deer retouch
2004
UNESCO buffer zone mapping
On the ground
Structures & features
43.8015° N · 75.5360° E · 1060 m · 2 mapped features
South Terrace — Chariot Pair Panel (Boulder ST-12)
petroglyph panelPaired-horse light chariot with driver and outrunner, Late Bronze classic style 1.1 m
43.8020° N · 75.5365° ESouth Terrace — Stag Deer Overlay (Boulder ST-28)
petroglyph panelNaturalistic Saka stag with branched antlers polished over Andronovo sun-head circle
43.8010° N · 75.5355° E