Paikend
Poykent
Uzbekistan · Bukhara
In brief
Paikend, southwest of Bukhara, has an excavated citadel and residential areas. The site is a component of the Silk Roads: Zarafshan-Karakum Corridor, inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2023.
What was found?
- 1Wall painting with a procession scene
A painting fragment depicting a procession scene was found in the building with a raised platform south of the citadel. It dates to the second half of the 3rd century AD through the beginning of the 4th century.
- 2Citadel defensive walls
Reinforcement masonry dating to the 4th and 5th centuries has been uncovered in the northern wall. It shows that the defenses were renewed in different periods.
- 3Early Hellenistic pottery
Storage vessels and tableware were found near the earliest fortification walls. According to researchers, some forms reflect the influence of the Greek pottery tradition in Central Asia.
- 4Glazed pottery and production tools
Glazed vessels and pottery production tools were found in a neighborhood in Şehristan II. These document craft activities in the city.
- 5Bronze objects and coins
Bronze objects and coins were recovered from refuse deposits in the same neighborhood. They provide data for investigating the city's everyday material culture and use of money.
What does it point to?
The walls, painted buildings, and production remains of Paykent indicate an urban life in which defense and crafts coexisted. According to researchers, the early pottery shows that this settlement on trade routes adopted forms from outside.
What did it teach us?
- Revealed that the citadel's defenses were strengthened in different periods.
- The wall painting documented the presence of figural monumental decoration in the city during late antiquity.
- Pottery production tools provided concrete evidence of craft activities within the city.
Images
Record
- Culture
- Sogdian and Islamic-period urban cultures
- Team / historical
- Louvre Buhara Vahası Arkeoloji Misyonu; Rocco Rante
- Coordinates
- 39.5855°, 64.0114°
Sources
- whc.unesco.org
- louvre.fr
- presse.louvre.fr
- hermitagemuseum.org
- Society for the Exploration of EurAsia — Andrey Omelchenko’nun kazı bildirisi özeti
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- Afrasiyab 255 km
- Ancient Merv 267 km
- Kampyr Tepe 357 km
- Dalverzin Tepe 372 km
- Toprak-Kala 374 km
- —
- —
- 12.000
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