Overview
- An international team from UCL, Durham and Toraighyrov documented Semiyarka as a planned 140‑hectare settlement above the Irtysh River, the largest ancient site of its kind in the region.
- Noninvasive mapping and targeted excavations uncovered an industrial zone with crucibles, slag and tin‑bronze artifacts, evidencing organized metallurgy on site.
- Rectilinear household compounds and a larger central structure point to urban‑like planning with potential ritual or administrative roles.
- Pottery and metals date the main occupation to around 1600 BCE, linking the settlement to Alekseevka‑Sargary material culture with contacts to Cherkaskul groups.
- Researchers used drone imagery, magnetometry and Corona spy photographs, and they note that excavations continue as some specialists question labeling the site a city pending population and chronology data.