Researchers believe the artifacts were made during the little-known Kangju state
Archaeologists have uncovered gold jewelry, arrowheads, and a large bronze mirror from 2,000-year-old burial mounds in the Turkistan region of southern Kazakhstan. The artifacts are thought to date back to the Kangju state, a little-known entity that ruled the region between the fifth century B.C. and the fourth century A.D.
The Turkistan regional government stated that these finds demonstrate the advanced craftsmanship of the Kangju state, which traded with ancient Rome, China, and the Kushan Empire. The bronze mirror, circular with an eight-sided arched design and a central hole for a thread, is believed to have originated in China during the Han dynasty (206 B.C. – A.D. 220). Such mirrors were highly prized throughout Eurasia and indicate the buried woman’s wealth and influence.
A team from Kazakhstan’s Ozbekali Zhanibekov University and local government archaeologists discovered these artifacts in three burial mounds in Turkistan’s Ordabasinsky district. Although two of the mounds had been looted in ancient times, the third contained valuable relics, including a Roman-style brooch (fibula), beads, a pottery jug, a shoe, a belt buckle, an arrowhead for hunting birds, and two ornate gold earrings dating from the first century B.C.
The earrings, made of “polychromatic” gold and inlaid with turquoise and rubies, are crescent-shaped, representing the moon, with lower decorations symbolizing grape clusters designed to reflect sunlight.
Expedition leader Aleksandr Podushkin noted that the Kangju state was a federation of various peoples, including nomadic groups like the Sarmatians, Xiongnu, and Saki (possibly Scythians). Located on the Great Silk Roads, Kangju cities had extensive diplomatic and trade connections throughout the ancient world. The artifacts will be displayed in the National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Astana.
