Ancient site · Settlement
Arkaim
A circular fortified settlement of the Sintashta culture in the southern Urals, discovered in 1987 just before the valley was to be flooded for a reservoir; the find saved it. Two rings of walls enclosed about sixty houses arranged like the spokes of a wheel, each with a hearth, well and copper furnace.
It is now a protected reserve. The find also set off far-fetched nationalist speculation, which archaeologists reject.
- Dates
- c. 2150–1650 BCE (published ranges vary)
- Still standing
- No, or only traces
- Location
- 52.65° N, 59.57° E
How we know
No writing existed; known from excavations since 1987 and radiocarbon dates.
Nearby sites
- Sintashta c. 2100–1800 BCE
- Sarazm c. 3500–2000 BCE (radiocarbon range 3900–2100 BCE)
- Jeitun c. 6000 BCE, for a few centuries
- Gonur Depe c. 2400–1600 BCE
- Merv city c. 550 BCE–18th century CE
- Maykop kurgan built within c. 3700–3100 BCE
Related
- Sintashta culture archaeological culture
- The world in 3000 BCE: The First Kings chapter