The Steppe Geoglyphs of Kazakhstan
In 2007, a man browsing satellite images spotted giant squares, crosses and rings drawn across the steppe of Kazakhstan.
What was reported
In 2007, Dmitriy Dey, a Kazakh economist and amateur archaeologist, was looking at satellite images of the Turgai region when he spotted huge geometric shapes on the steppe: squares, crosses, rings and a swastika-like figure, some hundreds of metres across. They are almost invisible on the ground.
More than 250 have since been found. In 2015, NASA released high-resolution satellite photos of the sites.
Explanations offered
Archaeologists have found that many are made of low earth mounds, and some of timber, and date back thousands of years, possibly to Stone Age hunting peoples or later communities. One idea is that some were used to watch the movements of the sun. Their purpose is still being studied.
- When
- Spotted in 2007; thousands of years old
- Where
- Turgai region, Kostanay, Kazakhstan
- Witnesses
- An economist using Google Earth; archaeologists
- Status
- Partly explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.