Eleke Sazy is an archaeological site in eastern

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

with numerous 6th-4th century BCE Early Saka kurgans. In 2020, archaeologists excavated multiple burial mounds in the Eleke Sazy Valley in East Kazakhstan. Here, a large number of gold artifacts were found. These artifacts included golf harness fittings, pendants, chains, appliqués, and more – most of which are in the

Animal Style Animal style art is an approach to decoration found from Ordos culture to Northern Europe in the early Iron Age, and the barbarian art of the Migration Period, characterized by its emphasis on animal motifs. The zoomorphic style of decoration ...

of the Scythian-Saka era dating back to the 5th–4th centuries BCE. File:Recumbent stag plaque (EKRM inv. no. KПO93-38625); gold with turquoise and lapis lazuli inlays; Kurgan 4, group II, Eleke Sazy, Tarbagatai mountains, Kazakhstan; 8th to 6th century BC.jpg, Recumbent stag plaque, Eleke Sazy, Kazakhstan; 8th to 6th century BC File:Hippogriff (EKRM inv. no. KПO94-39409-39413); gold; Kurgan 7, Group IV, Eleke Sazy, Tarbagatai mountains, Kazakhstan; 5th to 4th century BC.jpg, Hippogriff (EKRM inv. no. KПO94-39409-39413); gold; Kurgan 7, Group IV, Eleke Sazy, Tarbagatai mountains, Kazakhstan; 5th to 4th century BC.

References

Saka Scythia Archaeological sites in Kazakhstan Kurgans Iranian archaeological sites {{Central Asian history