Chinese archaeological work in Uzbekistan helps ‘fill a gap in the history’ of ancient Silk Road empire
- Joint project uncovers ‘a significant number’ of artefacts from the Kushan Empire, which sat at the heart of the ancient trade routes
Chinese and Uzbek archaeologists have completed the first phase of a joint project to excavate the remains of an ancient empire on the Silk Road.
The dig in Surxondaryo, a region in southern Uzbekistan, uncovered a “significant number” of artefacts and dozens of burials from the Kushan Empire, a vital hub on the Silk Road, according to China’s state news agency Xinhua.
The archaeologists believe that the discoveries, which also include three houses, revealed that eastern Surxondaryo was “a crucial area for Kushan people distributions”.
Little archaeological work has been done in that particular area and the team said the work helped fill out the historical record.
The Chinese team told Xinhua: “The presence of continuous traces of habitation on the eastern side of the Surxondaryo River region during the Kushan Empire … fills in a gap in the history of this region during that period.”
The Kushan Empire, which rose in the 1st century AD, covered most of modern-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as parts of India and Iran, becoming a crucial hub along the Silk Road.
