Today began our survey Kazakh Valley Archaeological Survey (KVAS), focusing on initial data collection, workflow development, data entry procedures, and student training. Weather was moderately hot, but tolerable. Little wind, no shade or rain.
Our first ROI is the initial "bay" or inter-ridge "pocket" northeast of Aparan, in the valley behind the Lusagyugh landscape. On the saddle behind Lusagyugh we recorded a scattered group of kurgans, large rock piles with no visible cromlech, as well as a modern artifact scatter. As we extended our transects west, we began to encounter linear architectural formations defining generally rectangular or polygonal spaces containing rows of similar "kurgan" installations. Many of them seemed to be installed perpendicular to the slope, slumping downslope with spilling cobbles and obscuring any possibly observable cromlechs.
After finishing our initial transects we performed N-S cemetery flagging ending uphill, where some massive linear architecture delineated space for larger, more earthen kurgans. This space also contained some small terraces leading up to the highest elevation burials. At the top of the ridge, a single cruciform burial was located, adjacent to the remains to several modern campfires.
In the afternoon we walked N-S transects in the field to the west of the aforementioned burials, identifying several wall segments and, near the northern treeline terminus of this "Transect 2," another burial cluster amid extensive planned tree furrows.
Looking east from these transects, it was clear that the northeastern bay area that has yet to be walked is also full of burials, meaning the the entire bay slope may constitute a single burial cluster. We aim to complete our survey of this bay tomorrow and (re)evaluate the number of clusters.