Archaeologists from Durham, UCL and Toraighyrov University report the excavation of Semiyarka, a Bronze Age settlement on the Kazakh Steppe dated to about 1600 B.C.E. Covering roughly 350 acres, the site is the largest known ancient settlement in the region and the first on the steppe confirmed to have produced bronze. Findings of large-scale metallurgical activity and organised production challenge assumptions that the steppe was only home to seminomadic groups, suggesting Semiyarka may have been a major industrial and trading hub.
Bronze Age 'City of Seven Ravines' — 3,500-Year-Old Bronze-Making Urban Hub Unearthed on the Kazakh Steppe
Archaeologists from Durham, UCL and Toraighyrov University report the excavation of Semiyarka, a Bronze Age settlement on the Kazakh Steppe dated to about 1600 B.C.E. Covering roughly 350 acres, the site is the largest known ancient settlement in the region and the first on the steppe confirmed to have produced bronze. Findings of large-scale metallurgical activity and organised production challenge assumptions that the steppe was only home to seminomadic groups, suggesting Semiyarka may have been a major industrial and trading hub.
12:32 AM, 11/19/2025Culture
Semiyarka: A major Bronze Age industrial city uncovered
An extensive Bronze Age settlement nicknamed Semiyarka, the "City of Seven Ravines," has been excavated on the Kazakh Steppe, revealing evidence of large-scale, organised metal production and trade dating to around 1600 B.C.E. The new international report — by researchers from the United Kingdom's Durham University and University College London together with Kazakhstan's Toraighyrov University — presents the most complete reconstruction to date of life and industry at the site.
Located on the vast grasslands of northern Kazakhstan, Semiyarka covered roughly 350 acres and is now the largest known ancient settlement in that part of the steppe. Archaeological layers show the settlement originated in the mid-second millennium B.C.E., during the Bronze Age, and contain clear evidence of metallurgical activity that identifies the site as the first on the Kazakh Steppe currently confirmed to have produced bronze.
Why this changes our view of the steppe
Until now, many researchers assumed the region was dominated by mobile or seminomadic communities at this time. Semiyarka's scale and the concentration of craft and metallurgical remains indicate a well-organised metal economy and the presence of permanent or semi-permanent settlement structures. These findings suggest that mobile pastoral groups could found and sustain large, structured settlements centred on specialised industry — blurring the line between nomadic and urban lifeways on the Bronze Age steppe.
Industry, trade and regional influence
Excavations uncovered traces consistent with large-scale manufacturing and craft production. The site's strategic position overlooking multiple valleys, combined with its size and production evidence, points to the possibility that Semiyarka functioned not only as an industrial centre but also as a regional trading hub with economic and political influence across its hinterland.
"This is one of the most remarkable archaeological discoveries in this region for decades. Semiyarka changes the way we think about steppe societies," said Miljana Radivojević of University College London, the report's lead author. "It shows that mobile communities could build and sustain permanent, organised settlements centred on a likely large-scale industry — effectively an 'urban hub' of the steppe."
Local archaeologists at Toraighyrov University first identified Semiyarka in the early 2000s, but it had not been systematically investigated until the recent international collaboration. Viktor Merz of Toraighyrov University, who first recognised the site two decades ago and co-authored the new study, noted that the joint work with UK institutions has greatly deepened understanding of the site's scale and significance.
Significance: Semiyarka provides vital new evidence for early organised metallurgy, social organisation and settlement patterns on the Bronze Age steppe, and will reshape research on how prehistoric communities in Eurasia manufactured goods, organised labour and engaged in long-distance exchange.