The ancient settlement of Saraishyk once again reveals the secrets of the past. During excavations that continuously take place on the territory of the archaeological site of the Golden Horde times, scientists have discovered silver coins minted in the 13-14th centuries. They testify to the fact that the territory of the sacral settlement had its own mint.
“Here we discovered a six-room building from the Golden Horde era. 36 silver coins were found here. It turned out that these coins were minted by order of the khans Zhanibek and Uzbek. This is one of the largest mints found in recent times,” said archaeologist Aibek Turaruly.
In addition, an ornamented earthenware jug, a perfume bottle and a bronze mirror were found here. Valuable artifacts testify to the existence of a school of crafts and trade relations here. Last year, archaeologists discovered the “Khan's grave” on the cemetery near Saraishyk settlement. It is believed that seven rulers of the Golden Horde and Nogai Horde, and then of the Kazakh Khanate were buried here. According to scientists, one of the burials belongs to Kassym Khan.
“We came to the conclusion that there was a large pantheon in this place. This year marks 500 years since the burial of Kassym Khan in Saraishyk. We are planning to organize a scientific conference by this date, invite eminent scientists and archaeologists. We hope that the findings will lead us to new discoveries,” said Abilseit Mukhtar, Director, State Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve ‘Saraishyk’.
As the scientists note, the discovered artifacts testify to the existence of a rich culture on the Silk Road.
Translation by Galiya Khassenkhanova
