Archaeologists find 3,600-year-old Bronze Age city in Kazakhstan, key metal hub. It is called 'Semiyarka'

Semiyarka, spread across 140 hectares, is now the largest known planned Bronze Age settlement in the Kazakh Steppe. (Image: Durham University)

Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of a vast 3,600-year-old Bronze Age settlement on the Kazakh Steppe, revealing what researchers describe as one of the most sophisticated and organised early settlements ever identified in Central Asia.

The site, known as Semiyarka, has now been confirmed as a major regional centre for large-scale tin-bronze production dating back to around 1600 BC. The findings come from the first detailed investigation of the area, conducted by researchers from University College London (UCL), the University of Exeter’s Department of Archaeology, and Toraighyrov University in Kazakhstan.

Semiyarka, spread across 140 hectares, is now the largest known planned Bronze Age settlement in the Kazakh Steppe.

Foundations of an early industrial centre

Excavations revealed long rows of rectangular earthen mounds, the foundations of multi-room homes arranged in a grid-like pattern. At the centre of the settlement, archaeologists identified a much larger structure believed to have served a communal or ceremonial purpose.

On the southeastern edge, the team uncovered what appears to be a dedicated industrial zone, containing a dense concentration of crucibles, slag, and bronze artefacts. According to researchers, this is the first firm evidence of large-scale tin-bronze production in the Eurasian steppe.

“The discovery suggests a highly organised and possibly centralised metalworking industry,” the research team noted, adding that such evidence is rare in a region typically associated with mobile pastoralist communities rather than permanent settlements.

Professor Dan Lawrence of the University of Exeter’s Department of Archaeology said the scale and structure of the settlement challenge long-held assumptions about steppe societies.

“The scale and structure of Semiyarka are unlike anything else we’ve seen in the steppe zone,” he said. “The rectilinear compounds and the potentially monumental building show that Bronze Age communities here were developing sophisticated, planned settlements similar to those of their contemporaries in more traditionally ‘urban’ parts of the ancient world.”

Semiyarka is located on a high promontory overlooking the Irtysh River in northeastern Kazakhstan. Its name translates to “Seven Ravines,” a reference to the valleys below. Positioned close to rich copper and tin deposits in the Altai Mountains, the settlement appears to have been strategically placed for both metal production and trade across the steppe. The findings have been published in the Antiquity Project Gallery journal.