What is known about the woman buried 1,500 years ago in Mangystau

The Karakabak archaeological complex in Mangystau continues to shed light on the history of a region 1,500 years ago. Finds unearthed at the site include coins, imported ceramics and gold jewellery, El.kz reports.

Particular attention has been drawn to the burial of a young woman. Archaeologists discovered two rings alongside her remains, which researchers associate with the history of her family.

Karakabak May Have Been Ptolemy’s Aspabota

Karakabak is located on the north-eastern shore of the Caspian Sea, near the shallow Kochak Bay. Systematic archaeological research at the site has been conducted by Andrey Astafyev and Yevgeny Bogdanov since 2017.

Researchers currently regard Karakabak as a major port, craft-production and trading centre for its period. Archaeological evidence indicates that the population of the area maintained contacts with the North Caucasus, the Sea of Azov region, the Volga region, the Southern Urals, Central Asia and the Middle East.

Karakabak is also associated with another historical question. Astafyev and Bogdanov have compared the site with Aspabota, mentioned by the ancient Greek geographer Claudius Ptolemy on the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea. In a scholarly paper published in 2026, the authors describe this identification as a working hypothesis that may be refined as new evidence becomes available.

Traces of the Silk Road

The settlement itself existed for several centuries. According to published archaeological data, the Karakabak complex dates approximately from the second half of the 2nd century or the first half of the 3rd century to the mid-6th century.

The finds include coins, items of clothing and jewellery, ceramics and other artefacts. In particular, a copper coin of the Roman Emperor Arcadius, who ruled from 395 to 408 AD, was discovered at the site.

Archaeologists associate Karakabak with a large-scale system of interregional exchange. According to the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, researchers consider it possible that one of the branches of the Silk Road passed through Mangystau, linking Central Asia, the Caspian region and Eastern Europe.

Astafyev and Bogdanov are also conducting research into the possible existence of an eastern Caspian branch of the Silk Road. This subject was addressed in a separate scholarly publication as early as 2020.

The Woman with Two Rings

One of the most unusual stories associated with Karakabak concerns the burial of a young woman who lived approximately 1,500 years ago. Signs of artificial cranial deformation were identified on her skull, which researchers associate with a possible high social status.

A gold ring set with a garnet was found on the woman’s right hand. Archaeologists discovered a man’s signet ring in the palm of her left hand, giving rise to an unusual hypothesis concerning the origin and significance of the two items of jewellery.

Researchers suggest that the rings may have had a meaning similar to that of wedding rings. Under this interpretation, the man’s ring may have been placed with the deceased by her husband as a farewell gesture. At present, however, this remains an archaeological interpretation, and it is impossible to establish the precise circumstances of the burial approximately 1,500 years after the event.

Who Might the Buried Woman Have Been?

Burials of individuals belonging to a high social stratum have indeed been discovered at Karakabak. A scholarly paper by Astafyev and Bogdanov describes an elite female burial dating to the Hunnic period, while the researchers date the elements of the costume to the second half of the 5th century and the first half of the 6th century.

Scientists believe that many elements of such attire may have been produced locally at the nearby Karakabak craft centre. This enables archaeologists to study, within a single archaeological context, the settlement’s way of life, local production and the burial traditions of the people who lived on the Caspian coast approximately 1,500 years ago.