Tamgaly-Tas II Ili River Bend North Petroglyphs
Таңбалы-Тас II — Өзен иін · Ili River Bend North Panels · Kurta-Shengeldy Bend
Bronze Age to Oirat·Andronovo, Saka, Wusun, Oirat·🇰🇿 Almaty Region, Ili River Bend, Khabatsagai, Kazakhstan
About
About Tamgaly-Tas II Ili River Bend North Petroglyphs
North river-bend schist slabs at the Kurta confluence on the Ili, 1.2 km north of the main Tamgaly-Tas Buddha, comprising 90 panels on flood-scoured boulders and low cliff. Inventory includes the unique ‘Ili boat’ petroglyph (Early Bronze vessel with 12 paddlers) and Saka animal-style boar-hunt with iron spears, plus Kalmak (Oirat) memorial stones 1643. Floodplain location means panels emerge only in low water.
Why it mattersOnly Ili rock-art with boat depiction, key for Andronovo river cult.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Function of boat with 12 paddlers
- 02Relation of Saka hunt to Kurta settlement
Theories
- 01River crossing ritual
- 02Ancestor ferry to afterlife
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.1500 BCE–1643 CE
- Period
- Bronze Age to Oirat
- Culture
- Andronovo, Saka, Wusun, Oirat
- Builders
- Ili pastoralists and Oirat memorial masons
- Purpose
- River-crossing boat ritual and floodplain hunting magic
- Abandoned
- c.1970 Kapchagai reservoir inundation risk
- Rediscovered
- 1946 Bernshtam; 2010 Rogozhinsky low-water survey
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.1500 BCE
Ili boat engraving
c.400 BCE
Saka boar hunt
1643
Oirat memorial stone
2010
Low-water Rogozhinsky record
On the ground
Structures & features
43.9050° N · 77.0650° E · 505 m · 2 mapped features
Ili Boat Boulder (RB-3)
petroglyph panelFlood boulder with 80-cm vessel and 12 stick paddlers, Andronovo
43.9055° N · 77.0655° EBoar-Hunt Slab (RB-17)
petroglyph panelSchist wall with spear thrust into boar flanked by hounds
43.9045° N · 77.0645° E