CROSS-SHAPED MAZAR OF SULTAN ASAN CHINGISOV AND THE BARROW WITH MENHIR IN THE VALLEY OF BESOBA, CENTRAL KAZAKHSTAN
The Sites are located near the village of Besoba, Karkaraly district of the Karaganda region. The Mazar is built of adobe brick. Its basis is the central square-shaped structure, on all four sides of which one small room is attached, which makes the entire building cross-shaped. Sultan Asan Chingisov, the grandson of Khan Bukey, the son of the Sultan Barak of the Middle Zhuz, was buried in Mazar with members of his family. According to data related to the biography of this man, the mazar was probably built in the 1870-1880s.The author believes that such mazars of the 19<sup>th</sup> century were built according to the type of late medieval domed tombs, their form dates back to the cruciform structures of the ancient era. 110 m southeast of the mazar there is an earthen mound of the Bronze Age. The diameter of the rounded mound is 19 m, the height is 1.5 m. The height of the menhir, which has a slightly curved shape, is 1.45 m. Apparently, the stone has traces of processing. Currently, researchers are working on the systematization of data on the menhirs of Central Kazakhstan. Researchers associate the ancient menhirs of Central Kazakhstan with the Begazy-Dandybaev culture of the Late Bronze Age, and the next chronological series with the Tasmolian culture of the Early Iron Age. The mound with menhir, recorded in the Asan tract, has a more archaic appearance and probably belongs to the late stages of the Andronovo community (Nurin culture).