These two medieval cities, named Tashbulak and Tugubulak, are among the largest cities ever recorded on the mountainous Silk Road, a vast network of ancient trade routes that connected Europe and East Asia. is.
Tashbulac and Tugumbrac are located on rugged terrain between 2,000 and 2,200 meters above sea level (roughly comparable to Machu Picchu in Peru), making them rare examples of thriving mountain cities.
The small city of Tashbulak had an area of about 12 hectares, while the larger city of Tugubulak reached 120 hectares, making it one of the largest provincial cities of the time.
“These would have been important urban centers in Central Asia, especially if they moved from lowland oases to more difficult highlands,” said archaeologist Professor Michael Frachetti of Washington University in St. Louis.
“Although typically seen as barriers to trade and movement on the Silk Road, the mountains were actually major centers of exchange.”
“Animals, minerals, and other valuable resources likely drove their prosperity.”
“The Tugumbrak site had an elaborate urban structure with a specific material culture that was very different from the sedentary culture of the lowlands,” added Dr. Farkhod Makhdov, director of the National Archaeological Center of Uzbekistan.
“It is clear that the people who lived in Tugumburak more than a thousand years ago were nomads who maintained their own independent culture and political economy.”
Combined lidar view of Tugumburak. Image credit: SAIElab / J.Berner / M. Frachetti.
Drone-based lidar scanning revealed squares, fortresses, roads and settlements in Tashbulak and Tugubulak.
“These are some of the highest resolution lidar images of the site ever published,” Dr. Frachetti said.
“They are made possible, in part, because of the unique erosion dynamics in this mountainous environment.”
“Both cities need more thorough testing,” he added.
“Preliminary excavations at one of the fortified structures in Tugumburak show that this fortification (a building protected by a three-meter-thick rammed earth wall) was constructed by a local metal smith who used the rich iron ore deposits to create steel. This suggests that it may have been a processing factory.
“Such an industry would have been an important feature of the city and its economy.”
It is already clear that Tashbulak and Tugubulak were not just remote outposts or resting places.
“The Silk Road was not just about China and its western terminus,” Dr. Frachetti said.
“Major political forces were active in Central Asia. Complex centers of networks were also drivers of innovation.”
team's result Published in this month's magazine nature.
_____
MD Frachetti others. 2024. Large-scale medieval urbanization tracked by UAV lidar in the highlands of Central Asia. nature 634, 1118-1124; doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-08086-5
Source: www.sci.news
