Idea #636 – Exploring the ancient citadel of Erkurgan near Karchi in Uzbekistan
Erkurgan, from the Greek name Atapa Kcenepa, would be the ancient site of the city of Karchi. Originally founded about 10 kilometers from the modern city, archaeological research has been able to prove that the ancient city was occupied as early as the 11th century BC, while some archaeologists would trace it back to the 3rd millennium BC. During the 6th century AD The city is destroyed by the Turkish invaders, but almost immediately rebuilt 3 km away. It then takes the name of Nakhchib, under the Sogdians, then Nassav under the Arabs. Seven centuries later, it is again razed by the troops of Genghis Khan and it is only at the end of the fourteenth century that Karchi is rebuilt on its modern site.
The whole still visible on the site of Erkurgan, cut today by the highway and the railway, is absolutely colossal. An immense enclosure of raw earth closes the city, of which nothing seems to subsist. On a hill, an Ark, or citadel, has been excavated by archaeologists and presents several walls, wells, pits, with thousands of potsherds. To understand everything, it is better to have some notions of archeology!
Some Pictures
Where is it ?
Erkurgan, Ouzbekistan
