BRONZE AGE
3rd-2nd millennia BC
The antiquities of Sazagansai
Bronze Age burials in the Sazagan valley are located behind the eastern outskirts of the
village of Sazagan, 26 km south-west of Samarkand. The monument was discovered in 1995 during the
development of a sand quarry in the Sazagan riverbed. Preservation work was carried out by O. I.
Ibragimov, Associate Professor of the Department of Archaeology, Samarkand State University. Two
burials were recorded: one almost completely intact, and the other preserved only in part.
Grave 1 is a roughly rectangular earth pit (0.6×1.2 m) stretched from north to south. Remains of a
woman aged 40-50 and, judging by numerous fragments, the carcass of a whole sheep were recorded on
the floor.
Grave 2, roughly rectangular in shape (2.1×1.65×0.6 m), was almost intact. In the earth pit were
remains of a man 25-30 years old, who was lying on his right side in a crouched position with his
head facing north. Next to the body were various things placed in the grave while burying: an
ornamented handmade vessel stood at the head, and a single-edged blade knife lied near it.
Wheel-thrown vessels stood behind the dead person (in a bowl there were unprocessed pieces of
precious and semi-precious stones – turquoise, lapis lazuli and aquamarine). Two psalia lied in
front of his chest. There were also remains of burial food with a two-edged blade knife. At his
feet there were stone tools, a cluster of defective beads, carnelian and lapis lazuli blanks,
bronze and stone adornments, and arrowheads. In general, the material obtained from these
extraordinary burials shows a striking cultural synthesis between the proto-Urban south and the
northern Eurasian pre-Andronovo steppe bronze culture.
The Sazagan complex is considered a product of the professional activity of two types of artisans –
metallurgists and jewellers. The finds demonstrate an expressive synthesis of two cultural and
economic systems dominated by the Sapalli substrate, which was associated with the establishment of
intercultural contacts within the steppe world in the early 2nd millennium BCE. According to the
range of discovered objects and recorded rituals, this cultural phenomenon undoubtedly indicates
the discovery of a new, clearly localised ancient
agricultural province in the Zeravshan area, close to the Bactrian-Marian civilization.
village of Sazagan, 26 km south-west of Samarkand. The monument was discovered in 1995 during the
development of a sand quarry in the Sazagan riverbed. Preservation work was carried out by O. I.
Ibragimov, Associate Professor of the Department of Archaeology, Samarkand State University. Two
burials were recorded: one almost completely intact, and the other preserved only in part.
Grave 1 is a roughly rectangular earth pit (0.6×1.2 m) stretched from north to south. Remains of a
woman aged 40-50 and, judging by numerous fragments, the carcass of a whole sheep were recorded on
the floor.
Grave 2, roughly rectangular in shape (2.1×1.65×0.6 m), was almost intact. In the earth pit were
remains of a man 25-30 years old, who was lying on his right side in a crouched position with his
head facing north. Next to the body were various things placed in the grave while burying: an
ornamented handmade vessel stood at the head, and a single-edged blade knife lied near it.
Wheel-thrown vessels stood behind the dead person (in a bowl there were unprocessed pieces of
precious and semi-precious stones – turquoise, lapis lazuli and aquamarine). Two psalia lied in
front of his chest. There were also remains of burial food with a two-edged blade knife. At his
feet there were stone tools, a cluster of defective beads, carnelian and lapis lazuli blanks,
bronze and stone adornments, and arrowheads. In general, the material obtained from these
extraordinary burials shows a striking cultural synthesis between the proto-Urban south and the
northern Eurasian pre-Andronovo steppe bronze culture.
The Sazagan complex is considered a product of the professional activity of two types of artisans –
metallurgists and jewellers. The finds demonstrate an expressive synthesis of two cultural and
economic systems dominated by the Sapalli substrate, which was associated with the establishment of
intercultural contacts within the steppe world in the early 2nd millennium BCE. According to the
range of discovered objects and recorded rituals, this cultural phenomenon undoubtedly indicates
the discovery of a new, clearly localised ancient
agricultural province in the Zeravshan area, close to the Bactrian-Marian civilization.
- Avanesova N. A. The Zeravshan cultural province of the Bactrian-Margian civilization [Zeravshanskaya kulturnaya provintsiya Baktriysko-Margianskoy tsivilizatsii] // On thepath of the discovery of civilization. Collection of articles dedicated to the 80th anniversaryof V. N. Sarianidi. TMAE. Issue 3. St. Petersburg: ALETHEA, 2010. PP. 334-364.
- Avanesova N. A. Zeravshan group of monuments in the Bactrian-Margianaarchaeological complex [Zeravshanskaya gruppa pamyatnikov Baktriysko-Margianskogoarkheologicheskogo kompleksa] // Archeology of Uzbekistan. Tashkent: Fan, 2019. No.2 (19). PP. 23-54. Avanesova N. The Zaravshan regional variant of the Bactria-MargianaArchaeological Complex: interaction between two cultural worlds // The world of theOxus civilization. Edited by Bertille Lyonnet and Nadejda A. Dubova. London-New-York,Routledge, 2020. Pp. 665-697.
