Digital Models of Archaeological Sites Developed During Fieldwork in Eastern Kazakhstan

During the 2026 field season, field research was conducted in the Markakol District of East Kazakhstan Region with the aim of generating digital models of archaeological complexes. The fieldwork involved staff members of the Kazakhstan-China Joint Laboratory for Remote Sensing Technologies and Their Applications, as well as researchers from the Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology of Al-Farabi KazNU.

The objective of the fieldwork was to conduct field verification of sites containing archaeological features that had been preliminarily identified during the desk-based research stage, as well as to carry out high-precision aerial surveys of areas with potential locations of historical and cultural heritage sites, including kurgan complexes and other archaeological features located in the vicinity of the villages of Bugymuyiz, Toskaiyn, and Balyqtybulak.

During the expedition, the previously identified sites were field-verified, and aerial surveys were conducted over key areas. The resulting digital data are being used for further analysis, mapping, and the development of methods for the automated detection of archaeological features.

All tasks of the fieldwork stage in the Markakol District of East Kazakhstan Region were completed in full.

The research is being conducted within the framework of the scientific project AP26100595, “Archaeological Sites and Cultural Heritage of the Markakol Basin: An Interdisciplinary and Comprehensive Study,” funded by the Science Committee of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan.