ENEOLITHIC
4th-3rd millennia BC
The Sanctuary of the Early Nomads
The cultic complex was discovered in 1987 on the left bank of the Zeravshan. It is located
on the outskirts of the village of Zhukov, 16 km east of Samarkand. Preservation excavations were
carried out in 1992 by N. A. Avanesova.
The research (an area 16×4 m was excavated) revealed a stone structure in the form of a ring 3.6 m
in diameter and 0.4 m in height. A 0.47 m high boulder-stela was installed in the centre of the
enclosed area.
The finds, which include long-use fires, hollows with ochre, broken dishes, clay handicrafts,
accumulations of animal bones and so on, indicate ceremonial and ritual actions performed by early
nomads in the late 4th and early 3rd millennia BCE.
The few extant artefacts were arranged in regular groups. Two adze–shaped axes and an arrowhead
were found in one of the fires, and a phallomorphic pestle was discovered in another. The finds
were concentrated around the fires. Ochrous and carbonaceous spots left by short-living fires, a
significant number of animal bones (sheep, cow, deer, wild ass), flake tools, microblades,
adornments of precious and semi-precious stones (lapis lazuli, turquoise, carnelian and other), and
the lower parts and rims of handmade vessels of Yamnaya- Afanasievo and Kelteminar and Sarazm types
were detected in different places within the enclosure. There was no grave pit or any other traces
of burial and human remains inside the enclosure, which suggests this structure was used to perform
some important ceremonies. It is obvious that the structure, which served for propitiatory
sacrificial actions, was visited regularly. The ritual ceremony included the building of fire
altars, in which tools brought as gifts to deities were found. The nature of the monument and the finds strongly suggests that the studied complex was one of the earlier forms of sanctuaries.
on the outskirts of the village of Zhukov, 16 km east of Samarkand. Preservation excavations were
carried out in 1992 by N. A. Avanesova.
The research (an area 16×4 m was excavated) revealed a stone structure in the form of a ring 3.6 m
in diameter and 0.4 m in height. A 0.47 m high boulder-stela was installed in the centre of the
enclosed area.
The finds, which include long-use fires, hollows with ochre, broken dishes, clay handicrafts,
accumulations of animal bones and so on, indicate ceremonial and ritual actions performed by early
nomads in the late 4th and early 3rd millennia BCE.
The few extant artefacts were arranged in regular groups. Two adze–shaped axes and an arrowhead
were found in one of the fires, and a phallomorphic pestle was discovered in another. The finds
were concentrated around the fires. Ochrous and carbonaceous spots left by short-living fires, a
significant number of animal bones (sheep, cow, deer, wild ass), flake tools, microblades,
adornments of precious and semi-precious stones (lapis lazuli, turquoise, carnelian and other), and
the lower parts and rims of handmade vessels of Yamnaya- Afanasievo and Kelteminar and Sarazm types
were detected in different places within the enclosure. There was no grave pit or any other traces
of burial and human remains inside the enclosure, which suggests this structure was used to perform
some important ceremonies. It is obvious that the structure, which served for propitiatory
sacrificial actions, was visited regularly. The ritual ceremony included the building of fire
altars, in which tools brought as gifts to deities were found. The nature of the monument and the finds strongly suggests that the studied complex was one of the earlier forms of sanctuaries.
- Avanesova, N. A. Th e sanctuary of the early nomads of the Zeravshan [Svyatilishche rannikh nomadov Zeravshana] // Afanasiev collection. Issue 2. Barnaul: Azbuka, 2012. PP. 4-27.
- Paléorient, 39.2. Paris, 2013. P. 85-109. Avanesova, N. Zhukov, An Eneolithic “sanctuary” of ancient nomads in the Zeravshan valley (Uzbekistan) // Paléorient, 39.2. Paris, 2013. P. 85-109.
