Petroglyphs within the Archaeological Landscape of Eshkiolmes

Description

The archaeological landscape of Eshkiolmes is a part of the Dzhungar Alatau Mountain Range. The property is located on the north of the Koksu River (the left feeder of the Karatal River) in 20-30 km south from the city of Taldykorgan – the administrative centre of the Almaty Region. It is a complex of numerous component archaeological sites (settlements, burials and petroglyphs) dated by the period from the Late Bronze Age to the middle of the XX century. The main group of components is located in the middle part of the mountain valley.

One of the stylistic particularities of the petroglyphs of Eshkiolmes of the Bronze Age is the massive dynamic scenes of battles and cattle raids. Numerous images of the battle chariots, armed warriors are the often actors of the dynamic scenes of Eshkiolmes are mixed with several heroic and mythical scenes such as the ‘sun-head’ personages and archers shooting in the giant. During the Iron Age, the anthropomorphous were much less popular than the images of local animals. The rock carvings of the Middle Ages are characterized by the scenes of battles, the daily life of the nomadic communities and hunting.

Justification of Outstanding Universal Value

Eshkiolmes is the biggest and one of the most well-studied petroglyph sites on the territory of Kazakhstan (around 10 000 rock carvings on more than 20 mountain gorges). The entire property and the rock carvings in particular, had special spiritual importance for local communities of the Zhetysu Region. The archaeological studies of other components of the site demonstrate its regular use for various rituals and provide rich information on the mythological perception of the world by the humans of the past, while the rock carvings were utilized for the idolization of the force of nature.

Criterion (iii): The rock carvings of Eshkiolmes were made during the different periods and together with the other archaeological components of the complex represent the unique testimony of the evolution of the rock art in the context of the social, ideological and cultural transformations from the end of II millennium BC to the middle of XX century. Particular importance represents three stylistic groups of petroglyphs of the Bronze Age (XIII-X centuries BC) and the rock carvings of the Early Iron Age – pre-Saka and Early Saka Period (VIII-VI centuries BC).

Statements of authenticity and/or integrity

Authenticity

The rock carvings of Eshkiolmes demonstrate a high level of authenticity. Apart from the few scientific research interventions that took place since the 1980s, the whole archaeological has conserved its authenticity. The petroglyph components of the cultural landscape have a relatively good state of authenticity despite a few of them were damaged by the modern signatures and image made during the Soviet and recent period.

The geographical isolation of the property, absence of the big auto-roads and modern economic activities on its territory has a positive impact on the state of the authenticity of the site. However, the uncontrolled visits of the site may eventually have an important negative impact, as it is situated in the proximity of the capital of the administrative region (city of Taldykorgan). Therefore, any promotion campaigns of the site on the national and international level should be made after the implementation of the regular monitoring and protection measures.

Integrity

All the main concentrations of the rock carvings are situated on the Dzhungar Alatau Mountain Range on the bank of Koksu River. The nearest human settlement – the village of Talapty (ancient name – Zharshapkan) is located on the other side of the River and has no impact on the integrity of the property. Another argument to the integrity of the site is the presence of the rock carvings and other archaeological components of the cultural landscape dated by all period from the Bronze Age to the middle of the XX century.

The main risks of potentially negative impact on the property are related to such natural and climatic phenomenon as the erosion of the land, water penetration in the rocks and movement of the rocks as the result of the seismic activities. At the same time, all these negative factors were having a place during the entire period of existence of its most ancient archaeological components.

Comparison with other similar properties

On the national level Eshkiolmes is going to be compared with three other rock carving properties simultaneously proposed for the inclusion and remaining in the Tentative World Heritage List of the Republic of Kazakhstan (petroglyphs within the archaeological landscapes of Arpauzen, Kulzhabasy and Sauyskandyk), as well as with one national rock carving property already inscribed in the World Heritage List in 2004 (Petroglyphs within the Archaeological Landscape of Tamgaly). All of them are located on the territory of two geographic areas: Zhetysu (Eshkiolmes, Kulzhabasy and Tamgaly) and southern Kazakhstan (Arpauzen and Sauyskandyk).

All five previously-mentioned petroglyphs sites on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Arpauzen, Eshkiolmes, Kulzhabasy, Tamgaly and Sauyskandyk) demonstrate numerous similarities: the same vegetation, and wild and domesticated animals (apart from the Bactrian camels more characteristic to the southern Kazakhstan); belonging of the rock carvings to the same long period of time from the Early Iron Age to the beginning of the XX century; the same complex of various archaeological sites (burial grounds, ancient settlements and ancient traditional dwellings) on the same area as the petroglyphs; and the same interpretation of the properties as the sacral and cult areas by the local communities of the past. In this way, all of them are the exceptional testimonies of the disappeared civilizations and cultures that generally left very few written sources on them, which makes them conform to the criterion (iii).

In this regard, all five reviewed petroglyph sites can be theoretically combined into one serial property of the rock art sites under the criterion (iii). As the Tentative World Heritage Lists of other Central Asian countries also includes several petroglyph sites (for example Saimaly-Tash on the territory of Kyrgyz Republic, and Sarmishsay on the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan), the international decision-making and scientific community can eventually consider a serial transnational nomination of the Central Asian rock art for World Heritage List.

On the international level, typologically the most resembling site to Eshkiolmes and other rock carving sites of Kazakhstan is the Petroglyphic Complexes of the Mongolian Altai inscribed in the World Heritage List in 2011 under the criterion (iii).

As Eshkiolmes, the Mongolian petroglyph complexes are also located in the isolated areas, represent the remains of cultural traditions of a long period of time and were used for the funerary and ritual purposes by the later communities. However, in the case of Mongolian property, the earliest rock carvings were dated by the period of Late Pleistocene. It means that it is much older than Eshkiolmes and other rock art sites of Kazakhstan. It explains the difference of the vegetation and the wildlife shown on the petroglyphs (for example the presence of the mammoths, rhinoceros, and ostriches on the Petroglyphic Complexes of the Mongolian Altai).

At the end of this short comparative analysis, it is worth to mention that all mentioned rock carving sites in Kazakhstan, Central Asian countries and Mongolia are potentially exposed to the same negative natural and anthropogenic impacts. As for the natural negative impacts, it is the soil erosion, water penetration and layering of the natural ground all coming from the fact that these properties are situated in the countries with the continental climate and serious daily and periodical changes of temperature. As for the anthropogenic negative impacts, the highest danger for the petroglyphs represents the uncontrolled tourists and site visitors that can seriously damage the historical rock carvings by leaving their signatures on top of them.