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Survey Recasts Kazakhstan’s 3,500-Year-Old Semiyarka as a 346-Acre Planned Settlement

Researchers mapped the site using satellite imagery plus magnetometry, with its urban status still in dispute.

Overview

  • The Antiquity study reports a footprint of roughly 346 to 350 acres, far exceeding earlier estimates of about 100 acres.
  • Magnetometry outlines rows of rectilinear domestic compounds and a larger central monumental structure consistent with formal planning.
  • The team identifies a dedicated tin-bronze production zone, with crucibles, slag, and artifacts pointing to organized metallurgy.
  • Material styles link Semiyarka to Alekseevka–Sargary and Cherkaskul groups, suggesting regional exchange around 1600 B.C.E.
  • Excavations have begun beyond the published survey, and external experts caution against labeling the site a city pending fuller data.