The Shamahai Burial Mounds and Deer Stones

The Shamahai Burial Mounds and Deer Stones

The Shamahai Burial Mounds and Deer Stones are a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Shamahai Burial Mounds and Deer Stones are located in the Shamahai Summer Pasture of Chagan'gulex Township, Qinghe County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Dating back to the Bronze Age around 4,000 years ago.

Across four distribution areas within an area of approximately 16.25 square kilometers, there are over 30 stone cairn and stone heap tombs, as well as 19 deer stones. The Shiba'erkule stone cairn tomb has a stone heap with a diameter of 78 meters and a remaining height of 25 meters, encircled by a stone ring with a diameter of 210 meters and a width of 3–5 meters. Four pathways paved with slab stones connect the stone heap and the stone ring, the widest of which reaches 1.6 meters. Built around water, the tomb complex boasts a grand and unique structure, making it one of the exceptionally large-scale burial mounds rarely seen on the Eurasian steppe. Deer stones are representative artifacts of early steppe cultures, and the 19 surviving deer stones at the site account for more than half of the total number found in Altay Prefecture.

This site indicates that the Shamahai Summer Pasture area was an important hub of activity for ancient nomadic peoples and a convergence point for cultural exchanges across the Eurasian steppe. (National Cultural Heritage Administration)

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units