ASTANA – Archaeologists from the Margulan Institute of Archaeology, working with local heritage preservation specialists, discovered an ancient Turkic runic inscription in the Burkhansai gorge in Kazakhstan’s Zhambyl Region. The text of the inscription has been deciphered as “Menin er atym – Aba,” which means “My name is Aba.” Photo credit: Margulan Institute of Archaeology The discovery was made during an archaeological fieldwork conducted as part of a research project on the ancient and medieval history of the Syr Darya and Karatau regions.
The inscription has since been documented, digitally recorded and subjected to preliminary analysis, reported the institute’s press service on June 7. According to preliminary research findings, the text of the inscription has been deciphered as “Menin er atym – Aba,” which means “My name is Aba.” This interpretation was proposed by Vladimir Tishin, a renowned scholar of ancient Turkic writing and leading researcher at the Institute of Mongolian, Buddhist, and Tibetan Studies in Ulan-Ude in Russia.
“Comprehensive research is ongoing to determine the inscription’s precise reading, dating and its cultural and historical context. The findings are expected to contribute to the study of the ancient Turkic written tradition, runic culture and the medieval history of Kazakhstan,” said the Margulan Institute of Archaeology.
The Syr Darya and the Karatau mountain range form a region where settled agriculture and nomadic pastoralism intersected. Photo credit: Margulan Institute of Archaeology Archaeologists began systematic research there in 2024 and have documented more than 1,200 petroglyphs, although the inventory is not yet complete.
The site contains five clusters of rock carvings and several burial grounds dating from the Early Iron Age and the medieval period. The petroglyphs span multiple eras from the Bronze Age to modern times, and depict animals, hunting scenes and pastoral life. Researchers believe some of the earliest carvings were created roughly 4,000 years ago.
According to the institute, the Syr Darya and the Karatau mountain range form a region where settled agriculture and nomadic pastoralism intersected. It is also one of the earliest areas of human settlement in present-day Kazakhstan. However, the region’s urban development during the ancient and medieval periods, as well as its cultural interactions and transformations, remain insufficiently studied.