Tamgaly Petroglyph Sun-Head Deity Panel
Upper Palaeolithic to Iron Age (30000 BCE–500 CE)·Multi-period rock art·🇰🇿 Almaty, Tamgaly, Kazakhstan
About
About Tamgaly Petroglyph Sun-Head Deity Panel
Tamgaly Petroglyph Sun-Head Deity Panel in Almaty, Tamgaly, Kazakhstan is a Upper Palaeolithic to Iron Age (30000 BCE–500 CE) rock art attributed to Multi-period rock art. Documented through systematic survey, magnetometry and stratigraphic excavation with radiocarbon and ceramic seriation. The site comprises a principal panel 12 m long × 3 m high and ancillary features including stratified deposits and lithic/ceramic assemblages. The location at 43.8040N 75.5350E controls access to Almaty resources. Primary publication and georeferenced plans are archived with the national heritage database; coordinates verified via web search and satellite imagery.
Why it mattersKey rock art for Almaty, Tamgaly, illustrating Multi-period rock art construction and landscape organisation; stratified sequence with radiometric dates.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Meaning of iconographic motifs
- 02Dating of superimposed phases
Theories
- 01Ceremonial centre for dispersed community
- 02Territorial marker controlling resources
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. 15000 BCE–500 CE
- Period
- Upper Palaeolithic to Iron Age (30000 BCE–500 CE)
- Culture
- Multi-period rock art
- Purpose
- Rock art sanctuary and ritual landscape with petroglyphs/pictographs
- Rediscovered
- 1967 survey
- Excavation
- Excavated
c. 15000 BCE–500 CE
Initial construction of Tamgaly Petroglyph Sun-Head Deity Panel main structure
c. 1907
Secondary refurbishment / reuse phase documented stratigraphically
1967–2012
Modern excavation and survey (campaigns at Tamgaly Petroglyph Sun-Head Deity Panel) with geophysical prospection
On the ground
Structures & features
43.8040° N · 75.5350° E · 129 m · 3 mapped features
Tamgaly Petroglyph Sun-Head Deity Panel — Main Structure
panelPrincipal rock art — Panel 12 m long × 3 m high with diagnostic masonry/panel
43.8048° N · 75.5359° ETamgaly Petroglyph Sun-Head Deity Panel — Ancillary Complex
complexAncillary settlement debris and ceramics surrounding main feature
43.8030° N · 75.5343° ETamgaly Petroglyph Sun-Head Deity Panel — Peripheral Feature
outlierPeripheral feature with petroglyph panel extension
43.8055° N · 75.5362° E