Steppe Geoglyphs
prehistoric earthworks in Kazakhstan
The Steppe Geoglyphs are a number of earth constructions in the Turgai Trough area of Turgai in northern Kazakhstan. There are at least 260 of these earthworks.
The constructions
Many or all of them consist of smaller earthworks (mounds, trenches, and ramparts) arranged with each other to make geometric and other shapes (composite figures). These shapes are squares, rings, and three others. The composite figures range from slightly under 90 m in length to over 400 m in diameter. Besides being made of earth dug out and piled up, some of the geoglyphs are made by placing stones next to each other.
Some of the large shapes have been given names, including Bestamskoe Ring, Ushtogaysky (or Ushtogay) Square, Turgay triradial swastika, Large cross Ashtasti, Ekedyn cross, Ashutasti ring, Kyzyloba line, Koga cross, and Shili square.
These shapes are large enough to be easily visible on Google Earth. The Ushtogay Square is at 50.832933°N 65.326276°E / 50.832933; 65.326276. The Turgay triradial is at 50.102778°N 65.360833°E / 50.102778; 65.360833, only about 800 metres (1⁄2 mi) from the town of Urpek.
The public source identifies “Steppe Geoglyphs” as prehistoric earthworks in Kazakhstan. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Steppe, Geoglyphs and prehistoric.
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Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 26, 2023. The linked authority identifier is Q21282285. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Steppe Geoglyphs” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.