Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, June 17 (Xinhua) — A Chinese-Uzbek joint archaeological team has made significant progress in excavations at the Chinartepa site in the upper reaches of the Surkhandarya River, uncovering numerous residential structures and unearthing a large number of cultural relics, CCTV reported on June 15, citing the Silk Road Joint Archaeological Research Center of Northwest China University (NWCU), northwest China’s Shaanxi Province.
The Chinartepa settlement, located on the edge of the third terrace of the eastern bank of the upper reaches of the Surkhandarya River, occupies an area of 350 thousand square meters and consists of a central settlement and adjacent burials. During the current excavations in the key area of the settlement, multi-layered housing structures of different periods were uncovered, which is important for constructing the chronological sequence of the Kushan culture, rethinking the architectural forms of the Kushan period and clarifying the archaeological characteristics of this culture.
Wang Jianxin, head of the Central Asian Archaeological Team of Northwest University of China and head of the Chinese-Uzbek joint archaeological team on the Chinese side, said that more than 30 dwellings located in at least 6 cultural layers were discovered at the site. Rich ruins including wall foundations, fireplaces, post holes were excavated, and numerous artifacts were recovered: painted clay figurines of people and animals, clay spindle whorls, stone millstones, coins and other items. The clear stratigraphy of the dwelling foundations makes it possible to clearly trace the processes of rebuilding, reconstruction and abandonment of houses in different periods.
Currently, the archaeological team has strengthened and preserved the discovered foundations of the dwellings and is carrying out systematic work to restore the extracted cultural relics.
From 2019 to the present, the Chinese-Uzbek joint archaeological team has conducted 7 archaeological surveys and excavations in the upper reaches of the Surkhandarya River, confirming the existence of a chain of equidistant Kushan settlements on the eastern bank of the river. Excavations at the Chinartepa settlement, which is the largest and best-preserved settlement of the Kushan period in the area, are ongoing. -0-