BRONZE AGE
3rd-2nd millennia BC
Tugai β a settlement of metallurgists
The settlement was discovered in 1986 by hydrogeologists while exploring the left bank of
the Zeravshan. It is located on the outskirts of the village of the same name, 18 km east of
Samarkand. It was studied by N. A. Avanesova in 1992.
Excavations on an area of 248 m2 revealed a semi-underground dwelling and a production site with
traces of metallurgical activity from the early 2nd millennium BCE. The collection of material
remains consists of more than 100 items, including Early Andronovo ceramics, metal, stone and bone
articles, adornments, and metallurgical production waste. The monument was left by miners and
metallurgists. Its materials represent a synthesis of several cultural traditions from the
Palaeometallic Age.
The cultural layer within the dwelling pit does not exceed 0.9 m in thickness, outside it β 0.2β0.4 m. Its relative thinness indicates that the monument was a seasonal settlement. Two identical open
fires and one utility pit were found on the bottom of the structure. The utility pit contained a
fragmented vessel, animal bones and polished stone axes. All the soil in the dwelling was sifted
and washed. This resulted in numerous finds, such as fragments of handmade and wheel-thrown
ceramics (Sarazm type), a copper ingot, a stepped bone buckle, metal and stone arrowheads, animal
bones and other. Outside the dwelling, the cultural layer mainly reflected metal production
activity. Accumulations of slagged copper ore, slag with inserts of reguli, and individual mining
and metallurgical tools deserve attention. They are represented by hammers, picks, ore cutters, and pestles for crushing ores. Remains of a semi-underground melting furnace were found in the production sector. It was filled with ash, charcoal, slag, and fragments of a clay nozzle from a slagged surface. The upper, overground part of the melting device was not detected.
The cultural and chronological interpretation of the Tugai settlement is based primarily on the
comparative characteristics of the technical, technological and morphological indicators of
ceramics similar to Petrovka items and those from Sarazm IV. The synchronicity of these cultural
formations is also supported by calibrated radiocarbon data. Sarazm IV is dated to
2300/2200 BCE, while the Tugai settlement to 2240/1960 BCE.
the Zeravshan. It is located on the outskirts of the village of the same name, 18 km east of
Samarkand. It was studied by N. A. Avanesova in 1992.
Excavations on an area of 248 m2 revealed a semi-underground dwelling and a production site with
traces of metallurgical activity from the early 2nd millennium BCE. The collection of material
remains consists of more than 100 items, including Early Andronovo ceramics, metal, stone and bone
articles, adornments, and metallurgical production waste. The monument was left by miners and
metallurgists. Its materials represent a synthesis of several cultural traditions from the
Palaeometallic Age.
The cultural layer within the dwelling pit does not exceed 0.9 m in thickness, outside it β 0.2β0.4 m. Its relative thinness indicates that the monument was a seasonal settlement. Two identical open
fires and one utility pit were found on the bottom of the structure. The utility pit contained a
fragmented vessel, animal bones and polished stone axes. All the soil in the dwelling was sifted
and washed. This resulted in numerous finds, such as fragments of handmade and wheel-thrown
ceramics (Sarazm type), a copper ingot, a stepped bone buckle, metal and stone arrowheads, animal
bones and other. Outside the dwelling, the cultural layer mainly reflected metal production
activity. Accumulations of slagged copper ore, slag with inserts of reguli, and individual mining
and metallurgical tools deserve attention. They are represented by hammers, picks, ore cutters, and pestles for crushing ores. Remains of a semi-underground melting furnace were found in the production sector. It was filled with ash, charcoal, slag, and fragments of a clay nozzle from a slagged surface. The upper, overground part of the melting device was not detected.
The cultural and chronological interpretation of the Tugai settlement is based primarily on the
comparative characteristics of the technical, technological and morphological indicators of
ceramics similar to Petrovka items and those from Sarazm IV. The synchronicity of these cultural
formations is also supported by calibrated radiocarbon data. Sarazm IV is dated to
2300/2200 BCE, while the Tugai settlement to 2240/1960 BCE.
- Avanesova, N. A. Ancient miners of Zeravshan [Drevniye gornyaki Zeravshana] // Journal Archaeology of Uzbekistan. Samarkand-Tashkent: Fan, 2012. No. 1(4). PP. 3-35.
- Avanesova, N. A. Ceramics from the sett lement of miners and metallurgists near the Zeravshan [Keramika poseleniya gornyakov-metallurgov Zeravshana] // IMKU. Issue 39. Samarkand: Fan, 2015. PP. 47-62.
- Avanesova, N. A. Mining and metallurgical production of Zeravshan [Gornoye delo i metallurgiya proizvodstva Zeravshana] // Materials of the Republican conference Β«Markaziy Osiye tarikhi va archeologiyasi muammolariΒ». Part 1. Samarkand: SamSU Publishing House, 2018.PP. 12-17.
- Avanesova, N. A. Mining and metallurgical production of Zeravshan [Gornoye delo i metallurgiya proizvodstva Zeravshana] // Materials of the Republican conference Β«Markaziy Osiye tarikhi va archeologiyasi muammolariΒ». Part 1. Samarkand: SamSU Publishing House, 2018.PP. 12-17.
