Bulldozers destroy 2,800-year-old settlement in Butakovka Gorge near Almaty

September 5, 2026 at 02:48 PM2 min

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Construction machinery destroyed nine of 15 ancient dwellings at a settlement in Butakovka Gorge near Almaty, archaeologists said. The lower tier of the site, dated to about 2,800 years ago, was completely removed. The work was carried out without the legally required archaeological approval.

Key Facts

Nine of 15 ancient dwellings at the Butakovka Gorge settlement were destroyed, and the cultural layer was seriously damaged.
The lower tier of the settlement was cut to a depth of 3–4 metres, removing nine residential and household structures.
The settlement is dated to about 2,800 years ago, older than Rome, and contained stone tools and ceramics from the early Iron Age.
No archaeological permission was issued for the work, and Almaty archaeologists say they are unaware of any application for such permission.

Destruction of the Site

Archaeologists report that nine of 15 ancient dwellings were irretrievably lost and the cultural layer was seriously damaged. Alexander Goryachev, a leading researcher at the Margulan Institute of Archaeology, said machinery cut the slope to a depth of about 3–4 metres. The lower tier, containing nine residential buildings and household structures, was completely destroyed, while the middle and upper tiers remained intact because the machinery had not reached them. The site had yielded stone tools and ceramics from various periods, including the early Iron Age.

Legal Status and Heritage Value

Any work at the site was illegal without permission from archaeologists, and Almaty archaeologists say they are unaware of anyone applying for or receiving permission to destroy the monument. The settlement was older than Rome and held significant historical value, according to archaeologists. Olga Gumirova, executive director of the Petroglyph Hunters Foundation, said the main value lay not in individual artefacts but in the structures, construction technologies, and materials that could show how people lived and worked thousands of years ago. The site could have become another tourist attraction for Almaty, but a significant part of the monument is now irretrievably lost.