Dombaul

The Mausoleum of Dombaul is one of the oldest of Kazakhstan, it was built in the pre-Karakhanid period around the 8th-9th centuries ^[2] . Among the local population there is a legend that this mausoleum was erected on the grave of a bodyguard or court musician Genghis Khan . Another legend says that it was built on the grave of the Dzhigit Dombaul, who, on the orders of Alash Khan , destroyed a herd of kulans who crushed his son - Jerin Khan during the hunt ^[2] .

In 1982, the Dombaul mausoleum was included in the list of historical and cultural monuments of the Kazakh SSR of republican significance and taken under state protection ^[3] .

Dombaul has a yurt-like appearance, the conical shape of the dome ^[1] . The primitive external form of the mausoleum, resembling a yurt , was caused, on the one hand, by the state of construction equipment, and on the other, by the ideology of shamanism that prevailed in the then society, according to which the afterlife of the deceased should be similar to earthly ^[2] . The plan is square, built of flat stone slabs. Its base was erected from log material with a stone lining that increases the height of the mazar . The size of the mausoleum from south to north is 8.9 m, from west to east 7.9 m, height 5.5 m ^[1] .

The building material was natural stone - sandstone , in the form of a grayish-pink flagstone, which was mined in quarries near the Kara-Kengir River, 3-4 km from the construction site. The sizes of the stones were different, from about 20 × 30 × 4 cm to 30 × 60 × cm, very convenient for masonry. The entire structure was erected on a lean loamy solution with an admixture of small fractions of cartilage found in local soil ^[2] .

On the outside, the plan is a rectangle, and on the inside, a beveled trapezoid with a base size of 3.90 and 3.45 m, and the sides of 3.20 and 3.05 m, with the narrow base of the trapezoid facing the entrance . The wall thicknesses of this structure reached 2.30 and 2.50 m; this contributed to their long-term safety. Unlike other mausoleums of the later times, found in the Ulytau region, Dombaul has a rather powerful foundation , unusual in these places for such structures, which protected it from precipitation ^[2] .

The entrance opening is oriented to the south, as the entrance to the yurt to protect it from the north-east, north and north-west winds that prevail in the territory of Central Kazakhstan. At the same time, it is very elevated from the ground (by about 1.20 m), which forced the builders to make four stone steps in front of the mausoleum. Inside, in front of the entrance, there is one descending step, forming a high threshold of entry. Due to this, animals cannot penetrate ^[2] .

The floor is arranged on bulk soil and laid on top in one layer with a thin flagstone, the ends of which along the inner perimeter of the walls were embedded into the masonry. Under the floor was the grave of the deceased; treasure hunters repeatedly interrupted her in search of some kind of treasure buried supposedly with the deceased, about which various legends exist among the local population. These barbaric excavations partially damaged the northern wall, since a digging was made under it to a depth of 1.15 m, which led to the settlement of the wall. At a height of 2.75 m from the floor along the entire inner perimeter of the walls, small beams of wooden beams were laid in the masonry, the ends of which protrude 50-60 cm in the form of consoles. On top of these consoles sandstone slabs were pinched by the ends into the masonry, which formed a kind shelves. Above the shelves, the walls gradually narrow and round, turning into a circle above which a conical (dome-like) top is erected. The height of the cone is 2.15 m; a hole was made in the top of the cone in the form of a shanyrak , like a yurt ^[2] .