A team of archaeologists in Kazakhstan said they have discovered an ancient settlement containing bundles of artifacts and animal remains dating more than 3,000 years, belonging to a nomadic civilization that once inhabited the region, Caspian News reports.

Archaeologists found millstones for grinding wheat, ceramics, and animal remains, which they say may have belonged to the Saka people, in an area known as Akbaur and located some 2,157 kilometers (1,340 mi.) west of Kazakhstan’s capital Nur-Sultan.

“In the first layer we discovered numerous artifacts, including thousands of fragments of ceramic dishes, which were distinctive only for the settlements,” said the Kazakhstani archaeologist Zeynolla Samashev, who led the team, according to reports by Novosti Ust-Kamenogorska.

“That is, these people lived inpatient. It turned out to be the settlement dating to the very end of the Bronze Age, and the beginning of the early Iron Age, this is exactly what we lacked,” he said.

In addition to animal remains and ceramics, the settlement contained numerous grindstones, spinning wheels, and remains of horses, sheep and goats.

The Saka were thought to be a nomadic people who historically inhabited the territories of Central Asia, South Caucasus, Afghanistan and modern-day India. Their language is considered a Scythian language.

The artifacts found will be sent to special laboratories for complex analysis, and then to the funds of the regional museum.

Meanwhile, additional studies are planned in the area of Akbaur, since experts from Kazakhstan and Russia suggest that several more settlements may be hidden under the first layer. The excavations will be continued next year when archaeologists from Turkey and Azerbaijan will join the dig. Scientists will determine the status of various types of monuments located on the territory of this area, classify and date them.

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