Ancient pyramid — decorated for ‘cult of

 the horse’ — unearthed in Kazakhstan. 

7

Aspen Pflughoeft

Digging into the tan-brown soil of Kazakhstan, a rock-hewn structure began to reemerge.

The “sophisticated” — and sizable — pyramid had gone overlooked for years. But not anymore.

Archaeologists were excavating part of the Kyrykungir monumental complex in Toktamys when they uncovered a “large” steppe pyramid, L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University said in an Aug. 8 news release.

The pyramid is 4,000 years old and dates to the Bronze Age, archaeologists said. It has six sides, each measuring about 42 feet long.

“The steppe pyramid is built with great precision,” historian Ulan Umitkaliyev, head of the university’s archaeology and ethnology department, said in the release. “It is a very sophisticated complex structure with several circles in the middle.”

Photos show one side of the structure. Each end of the wall has a larger, black stone sitting upright with a flattened side facing outward. In between, a different type of rock forms the imposing exterior wall.

exterior walls of the structure of this complex are dominated by images of various animals, especially horses,” Umitkaliyev said. These decorations, along with horse bones unearthed nearby, link the pyramid to “the cult of the horse,” he said.

Archaeologists also reported uncovering pottery, gold earrings and other jewelry.

The artifacts indicate the pyramid “was the center of culture in ancient times,” Umitkaliyev said

Another photo from Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Science and Higher Education shows a less well-preserved section of the pyramid, with several ruined walls.Excavations at the Kyrykungir monumental complex have been ongoing since 2014, the university said. The site in Toktamys is about 420 miles southeast of the capital city of Astana.

Google Translate was used to translate the Facebook posts from Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Science and Higher Education.