Shilikty (Ru: Шиликты курганы), formerly Chilikti, also more precisely Baigetobe Kurgans (Ru: Курганы Байгетобе) in Shilikty Valley, is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...

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 ...

, located in the Chilik river basin. At this site, numerous 8th-6th century BCE Early

Saka The Saka, Old Chinese, old , Pinyin, mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit (Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples, Eastern Iranian peoples who lived in the Eurasian ...

kurgans were found. Carbon-14 dating suggests a more refined date of 730-690 BCE for the kurgans, and a broad contemporaneity with the Arzhan-2 kurgan in Tuva. The Kurgans contained vast quantities of precious golden jewelry. Remains of a "golden man" (similar to the

Issyk kurgan The Issyk kurgan, in south-eastern Kazakhstan, less than 20 km east from the Talgar alluvial fan, near Esik, Issyk, is a burial mound discovered in 1969. It has a height of and a circumference of . It is dated to the 4th or 3rd century B ...

golden man) were found in 2003, with 4262 gold finds. File:26. Flying deer Chilikti (VII. - VI. B. C.) Kazakhstan.JPG, Flying deer, Chilikti (VII. - VI. B. C.) Kazakhstan. File:27. Eagle (Griffin) Chilikti (VII. - VI. B.C.) Kazakhstan.JPG, Eagle (Griffin), Chilikti (VII. - VI. B.C.) Kazakhstan. File:Saka kurgan dates.png, Saka kurgan dates, Shilikty being among the earliest.

References

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