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The Sogdian princess and the Fire Temple

Uzbek and French scholars have made an important discoveries in Samarkand. This city, one of the most ancient on earth, continues to astonish researchers. During resent archaeological excavations at the settlement of Koktepa, 35 kilometres off the city, they unearthed a burial-place of a young lady, which the press called the 'Sogdian Princess'. On her clothing researchers found 333 stripes of gold plaques.

In the opinion of scholars, this finding has enriched the world's cultural legacy with unique objects of antiquity. Among the artefacts that had lain buried for over 20 centuries there is a Chinese mirror made of some unknown alloy. The artefacts are still being studied but it can already be said with confidence that local trade links with China existed from the very establishment of the Silk Road.

The new findings obtained by the scholars in the course of excavations of Afrosiab, the most ancient part of Samarkand, place the foundation date of the city, whose 2500th anniversary was marked in 1970, some 250-300 years back.

Sogdian princess
Sogdian princess

Joint studies conducted by Uzbek and German scholars in the Kyzyl Kum desert have also produced important finds. Researchers were amazed at the scale of mining carried out by these miners of old. They found openings 10-12 metres deep, remnants of metallurgical furnaces, traces of metal splashing and slag dumps. Researchers have discovered that copper was mined along the ancient bed of the Syrdarya River, and tin - near the foothills of the Zirbulak and Ziyavuddin mountains to the east of the ancient settlement of Karnab.

The importance of these discoveries can hardly be overestimated. The development of mining and metallurgical production in the Kyzyl Kum desert marked the origin of the first civilizations, those of Sogd and Khorezm, mentioned in the Avesta, the sacred book of Zoroastrians. According to ancient writings, tin utensils made by local craftsmen were supplied to world markets and were in great demand there.

For more than 20 years Uzbek archaeologists and their colleagues from the State Heritage in St. Petersburg have conducted joint excavations at the Paikend settlement site 60 kilometres from Bukhara. Tragedy befell this city that had once flourished - moving sands buried the city wiping it off the face of the earth. Prior to that tragedy Paikend, situated on the Silk Road, was so famous that all Bukharians when asked in Bagdad where they were from replied, 'From Paikend'. It was the first city-state in Central Asia governed by rich merchants.

At the exacavations
At the exacavations

Trade was the main occupation of its population. The number one commodity was silk, both local and Chinese. The latter was brought on camelback from as far away as Chine I. From Paikend caravans travelled on to Afghanistan, India, the Caucasus, the Urals and the Volga River. They had with them pedigree horses, alfalfa seeds, and saplings of fruit trees, fruits, glass and earthenware. Paikend merchants went as far as Japan, Vietnam and Ceylon, while the marketplaces of their native city played host to Arab, Indian, Chinese, Afghan, Persian and European negotiants. The city was also famed for the articles made by its glass blowers, potters and armourers.

A thick fortress wall surrounded the city with turrets situated at a distance of 60 metres from each other. But the most surprising thing was that it was defended by female troops. However, there is nothing surprising about it considering that men were absent for the greater part of the year trading with other countries. Their women had always been distinguished by independence. In the early period of the city's existence (4th to 1st cc. B.C.) they even chose their husbands, and not one but several. From early childhood girls were taught riding and archery. This fact was confirmed in the course of excavations, when archaeologists found several delicate bone rings. Women put such rings onto their middle finger in order to draw the bow.

In the 8th century Paikend was the first city that stood on the way of Arab troops that invaded Movarounnakhr. After a two-month siege the city was seized by cunning, and its residents were taken prisoner and turned into slaves. Invaders came into possession of a glut of wealth: gold and silver vessels, two pearls the size of a dove's egg, Buddhist statues made of gold, which were smelted into bars, as well as a splendid armoury.

Men who returned to their old home bought women and children out of slavery and re-built the city very quickly. It was not invaders but drought that dealt a lethal blow on Paikend. The water level in the Zeravshan River dropped drastically, and no matter how hard the city residents tried to bring it back by digging numerous canals, they failed to stand against nature and were forced to leave the place. It is now planned to turn Paikend into a historical landscape reserve museum with UNESCO's support.

Another city buried in the sands of the Kyzyl Kum desert is Akshankala in the lower reaches of the Amudarya River. It is situated 140 kilometres from Nukus, the capital of Karakalpakstan, which is a part of Uzbekistan. The city site has been excavated since 1995 by researchers of the Karakalpak branch of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan and University of Sidney, Australia.

Akshankala was the capital of Khorezm, one of the most ancient states in the region. By burying the city under its sands, the desert has preserved it for the later generations. The city is on an area of over 40 hectares, its fortress wall is over 3 kilometres long. In the centre of the city archaeologists have found a necropolis with burial-places of ancient Khorezm rulers and a temple. They have unearthed a corner and a side towers three stories high in the fortress wall. Inside the wall they have excavated residential blocs. The study of remnants of the ancient irrigation systems in the oasis that surrounded the city promises to yield rich scientific input.

Eight kilometres off the ancient capital the Uzbek and Australian archaeologists are studying the Fire Temple, one of the ancient Zoroastrian sanctuaries. In its centre, raised on a platform of raw bricks, there stands a dark vaulted room, in which the sacred fire burnt incessantly several centuries back. It is surrounded by an impressive ensemble of premises open from above. Inside each of them there is an altar for sacrifices. On the days of religious holidays the fire in the altars was ignited from the central sacred flame. The findings of the excavations have provided sufficient evidence for the reconstruction of some rites of Zoroastrianism, one of the most ancient world religions.

Archaeological discoveries are numerous, and every year more of them are made in various parts of Uzbekistan, enriching our knowledge of the past culture and everyday life of our ancestors, and opening new destinations for tourists.

All Tourist Gems of Uzbekistan