description Ashutasty Cross Overview
The Ashutasty Cross is a large cross-shaped earthwork identified among the Turgai geoglyphs of northern Kazakhstan. These landscape-scale figures are formed from arrangements of mounds, embankments, or trenches across the Turgai Steppe and are most readily recognized from aerial or satellite views. The Ashutasty Cross became known internationally through reports about the geoglyph group in 2014, but its precise age, purpose, and cultural attribution remain subjects for archaeological investigation.
help Ashutasty Cross FAQ
Where is the Ashutasty Cross located?
The Ashutasty Cross is one of the large Turgai geoglyphs in northern Kazakhstan. It lies in the broad Turgai Steppe region, where other crosses, rings, and squares are also found.
How was the Ashutasty Cross made?
It was formed from large arrangements of earthen mounds, embankments, and ramparts rather than painted lines. The structures use earth moved and piled across the steppe.
Why is the Ashutasty Cross mainly recognized from the air?
Its full cross-shaped layout is spread across a landscape-scale area, so satellite images and aerial views reveal the geometry much more clearly than ground-level viewing. Individual mounds can be difficult to interpret from the surface.
How old is the Big Cross of Ashutasty?
An optical-stimulated-luminescence study dated the Big Cross to approximately 2,800 to 2,750 years ago. That places its construction around 800 to 750 BCE, with the usual uncertainty of archaeological dating.
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