Czech Archaeologists in Uzbekistan Discover Bronze Age Irrigation System












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            When a team of three researchers of the Institute of Classical Archaeology [ URL "http://u

            q=en/frontpage"] , CU FA set off for the Paschurt Valley, their initial plan was to inspec
            funeral barrows typical of steppe cultures. A discovery they made in a nearby site meant a
            of their plans. What they discovered was settlements dating back to the Iron and Bronze Ag

            well-preserved irrigation system.



            The Paschurt Valley is located in the south of Uzbekistan, a country which has become a tr
            destination for Czech archaeologists: 2014 has been the thirteenth year in a row for the t

            ´s Institute of Classical Archaeology.

            The team, including PhDr. Ladislav Stančo, Ph.D. [ URL "http://ukar.ff.cuni.cz/en/stanco"]

            Vondrová, a student of anhtopology and postgraduate in classical archaeology, and Bc. Adam
            archaeology student, came to the steppe to inspect the kurgans, “open” one of them, place 
            timeline, and analyse the funeral rite. “As we were leaving the site, where we had been de

            tumulus to focus on, we came across a much more accessible necropolis with burrows in exce
            Thus our decision to concentrate on this new site,” says Ladislav Stančo.


            Surface investigations of the site near the village of Kayrit revealed eleven kurgans as w
            settlements. Commenting on the surprising discovery, Mr. Stančo said: “This was absolutely
            The localities were only hundreds of meters apart and what´s more, they were right next to

            a few expeditions must have passed the place when they came to work in the surrounding are

            The main discovery, a locality called Burgut Kurgan, dates back to the early Iron Age, i.e

            half of the 2nd millennium BC. For years, researchers had been searching in vain in this p
            Asia for an intact locality that would provide valuable findings about the Iron Age, a per
            intermingling of the culture of settled farmers with that of newly arriving nomads.


            Irrigation Canals Survive Despite Later Construction


            The locality, covering an area of 60 by 50 meters, is found on an elevated place and is fo
            a stone wall. “The fortification makes us believe that this place provided refuge for othe
            settlements when in danger. We have found huge amounts of pottery, which helps us determin

            settlement is. We assume this to be a settlement of half-dugout dwellings, but we will kno
            have uncovered the whole area,” says Ladislav Stančo.


            Future research plans include exploring the irrigation canals which were used to bring wat
            springs in the nearby micro-oasis of Zarabag, with branches leading to several localities.
            is confirmed to have originated in the late Bronze Age, this will be a unique discovery si

            water supply systems have survived; most were destroyed by later construction or ploughing

            Kurgans to Wait for Czech Archaeologists


            As for the kurgans which had been the Czech team´s initial subject of research, the archae
            time to uncover the burial chamber itself. What they managed to do was to make a cross-sec

            barrow and get as deep as two meters below surface level. The human remains, however, rema

            “Hopefully, we will receive enough funds next year to be able to return to Kayrit and comp

            research,” says Ladislav Stančo. What archaeologists working in Uzbekistan appreciate is t
            in other parts of the world, historic monuments are not destroyed or robbed by local peopl
            “archaeologists” with metal detectors are non-existent. Therefore, all the Czech team need

            conserve the uncovered barrow with a layer of stones.