Archaeologists unearth two medieval cities in Uzbekistan Redefining Silk Road history

Archaeologists have made a groundbreaking discovery in the mountainous regions of eastern Uzbekistan, unearthing the remains of two medieval cities that could reshape our understanding of the historic Silk Road.

 Traditionally associated with the exchange of goods and ideas between the East and West, these trade routes were thought to connect primarily lowland cities, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

However, employing remote sensing technology, researchers have identified at least two highland cities located at a crucial intersection of these trade routes. 

One of these cities, Tugunbulak, covers an area of at least 120 hectares and is situated over 2,000 meters (6,600 feet) above sea level. "The history of Central Asia is now changing with this finding," said archaeologist Farhod Maksudov, a member of the research team. The team believes that Tugunbulak and the smaller settlement of Tashbulak thrived between the 8th and 11th centuries during the Middle Ages, a time when a powerful Turkic dynasty dominated the region.

Today, only 3 per cent of the global population resides at such high altitudes, with Lhasa in Tibet and Cusco in Peru being among the few exceptions. The discovery, led by Mr. Maksudov, director of Uzbekistan's National Center of Archaeology, alongside Michael Frachetti, an archaeologist at Washington University in St. Louis, was made possible through the use of drones and a remote-sensing technology called lidar, which utilizes reflected light to create three-dimensional maps of the environment.

Their research was published in the scientific journal Nature and experts not involved in the study have praised its importance in illuminating the lifestyles of nomadic communities.   The team initially discovered Tashbulak, the smaller city, in 2011 while hiking in the mountains. They uncovered burial sites, thousands of pottery shards, and other evidence of human habitation in the area.

Historical records reference cities in the region, but the team was surprised to find a 12-hectare medieval city situated about 2,200 metres above sea level. 

“We were kind of blown away,” Mr. Frachetti said.

He noted that even the trek to the site was challenging due to strong winds, storms, and logistical issues.   Four years later, a local forestry official alerted the team about another site near Tashbulak.

“The official said, 'I think I have some of those kinds of ceramics in my backyard.' So we went to his house... And discovered his house was built on a medieval citadel. He was like living on a huge city,” Mr. Frachetti recounted.   The most difficult aspect of these findings was convincing the academic community of the existence of these cities. “We would say to people that we found this amazing site, and we would get skepticism, that maybe it's not so big, or it's just a mound, or a castle... That was the big challenge, how to document this city scientifically to actually illustrate what it was,” Mr. Frachetti said.

By Naila Huseynova