The mountainous area of Aiyrtas is located in the Karkaraly district of the Karaganda region. There, in previous years, the fi rst sites of the early Iron Age were discovered and explored. Among them, eight mounds from three burial grounds were excavated, and settlements of the early Iron Age, Kazakh winterings were also found. In the summer of 2022, under the guidance of the author, a strip 2.6 km long was identifi ed on the upper slope of the mountain, where 8 settlements of the early Iron Age are compactly located. Excavations of the Aiyrtas-3 settlement were carried out. On an area of 432 m2, remains of stone foundations of dwellings and outbuildings were discovered, which, judging by the finds of stone tools and ceramics, belong to two historical eras: the Late Bronze Age and the Saka period. At the same time, questions of the chronology of the upper level of buildings (structures 1–3) will becorrected in the course of obtaining the results of radiocarbon analyses. A few iron objects are associated with the top layer of the site. In the course of research, old Kazakh winterings were discovered, among which, as the author believes, there are earlier ones than those studied in previous years.