Archaeologists have uncovered a sprawling Bronze Age settlement on the steppe of Kazakhstan that was likely a major early city in its heyday about 3,600 years ago, a new study reports.
The early city of Semiyarka spanned 346 acres (140 hectares) — more than four times larger than contemporaneous villages in the region. The site, which dates to 1600 B.C., is the first site in the region discovered to have significant space dedicated to metallurgy and tin-bronze production, according to the study, published Tuesday (Nov. 18) in the journal Antiquity.
