Excavations at Bandixon, Surchandar´ja Province, Uzbekistan

The Surchandar´ja province lies in southern Uzbekistan, adjoining to Afghanistan in the south, Tadjikistan to the east and Turkmenistan in the west. Bandixon is capital of the raion of the same name and lies roughly in the centre of the province.

	Departments: Eurasia Department
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History


	Jaz I bowl from Majdatepa

	Landscape near Bandixon

Since the excavations of Jaz-Depe in Turkmenistan have been published by V. M. Masson (Массон 1959) there has been some discussion about the Late Bronze Age culture with painted pottery from Central Asia, which is best described as Jaz I type (Kohl 1984, 193-200). To name only some of the more important sites, similar materials were found at Tilljatepe (Afghanistan) (Сарианиди 1989), Burguljuk, Chust, Dal´verzin of the Ferghana Valley, Dzharkutan, Kuchuktepa (Uzbekistan) (Шайдуллаев 2000) and Osh (Kirgistan) (Заднепровский 1997). However, the chronological place of the Late Bronze Age painted pottery has not been definitely fixed, varying between the 15th/14th Century BC and the 10th/8th Century BC. Besides this, except for unclear situations at Kuchuktepa and Tilljatepe as well as some pit houses from Burguljuk and Osh, no coherent architectural plans have been published. The dominance of hand made pottery (sometimes considered as "degenerated"), not known in such quantities during the preceding Namazga V-VI periods, has been remarked, although wheel made pottery is usually also mentioned. All these factors led to the idea of an "epoch of barbarian occupation" after the proto-urban civilization of the Bactro-Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC) of the Bronze Age proper. Another culture of the late 2nd or early 1st Millennium BC with painted pottery distributed in western China, perhaps best named of the Chawuhu type, has lately entered the attention of archaeologists studying Central Asian prehistory. It may also be connected to the material discussed here, although this is contestable (Debaine-Francfort 1989). The later development (Jaz II period) is even less well known, while the Jaz III period (Achaemenid period) and the following historical developments are fairly well known from a large number of excavated sites all over Central Asia.

Objectives


	Kaxromontepa

The Bandixon microregion offers "pure" sites for various time periods, allowing precise cultural definitions. Besides the basic problems (chronology, economy) and the study of settlement structures, a unique chance to investigate the reasons for short range shifts is offered by their spatial distribution as well.

History of Research


	Kindyktepa

The sites Majdatepa (previously Bandixon I), Bektepa (previously Bandixon II), Gazimullahtepa (also Bandikhan III), Jalangtushtepa, Kindyktepa, Sariband and others were discovered in the early 1970´s by E. Rtveladze during expeditions of the Art History Institute. E. Rtveladze also carried out first soundings at most sites, later followed by excavations led by him or other members of the Art History Institute, which have been published (Ртвеладзе 1975; 1976; 1983, 2007; Сагдуллаев 1987).

Current Work


	Architecture of the Jaz I period

	Fireplace with ash-box (Majdatepa)

	Large wheel-made pot in situ at Majdatepa

	Fireplace of the Jaz I period on Majdatepa.

New excavations have been started since 2005 in the area of Bandixon in southern Uzbekistan. Work concentrated at Majdatepa, Bektepa, Gazimullahtepa, Kindyktepa and Jalangtushtepa, as well as at Kaxramontepa, some 10 km to the northeast (for first results see Сверчков/ Бороффка 2007).

Majdatepa lies on the right bank of the Urgul-Saj, a branch of the Bajsun Saj (also Kofrun-Saj or Tashkuprik-Saj) and consists of a U-shaped citadell with a lower settlement mound around its eastern, western and northern parts. Since a cemetery occupies the citadell, excavations are possible only on the lower surrounding areas of the settlement, where a section of 10 x 20 m was opened. Altoghether, a stratigraphy of cca. 3,5 m was excavated, with several building phases of the Jaz I period, the oldest of which is founded directly on the sterile ground. At the top of the sequence some pits containing Jaz II materials document the presence of the following period.

Smaller excavation surfaces were opened at Bektepa, a rectangular fortification (ca. 100 x 120 m) situated around 250 m to the northwest from Majdatepa. In the lowest level a large roughly rectangular pit house (4 x more than 4 m) was uncovered, containing exclusively Jaz II type pottery and large quantities of bones, mostly from bovids.
The fortress itself was built after an interruption of life at the site. It belongs to the late Jaz III time (Achaemenid period).

At the northwestern edge of a surrounding open settlement, about 300 m northwest from Bektepa, lies the other complex structure named Kindyktepa, which is part of the same settlement area. Here too a small excavation was dug in 2005 and extended in surface in 2006. A large representative building of the late Jaz III period, i.e. the same time as the rectangular fortification of Bektepa, is to be opened.

Gazimullahtepa is situated on the other bank of the Urgulsaj, about 900 m east-northeast from Majdatepa. This large settlement of the classical Jaz III period had been excavated and published by E. Rtveladze (Ртвеладзе 1987).

Settlement later continued into the Kushan period at Jalangtushtepa, about 2 km northeast from Gazimullahtepa. During the Kushan period, another settlement, Sariband, lay on the right bank of the Tashkuprik-Saj, about 10 km further to the northeast. Nearby, at Kaxramontepa a sounding and larger excavations were dug to clear the age of the site, which consists of a small, roughly square fortress (35 x 35 m). It can be dated to the AD 4th - 5th Centuries, continuing the occupation of the region after Jalangtushtepa and Sariband were given up. Funerary structures in the area of Sariband and Kaxramontepa probably also date from the middle of the 1st Millennium AD.

Results


	Hand-made bowl of the Jaz I period from Majdatepa

	Painted bowl from Majdatepa with 'Rain'-Motive

	Bemalte Deckel der Jaz I Zeit vom Majdatepa.

	Wheel-made bowl from Majdatepa (Jaz I Period)

	Miniature vessels from Majdatepa (Jaz I Period)

	Vessels of the classical achaemenid period from Gazimullahtepa.

	General view (from the east) of the central room at Kindyktepa

	Jalangtushtepa. View of the citadell from the southeast.

	Clay figurines of the Kushan period from Jalangtushtepa.

	General view (from the east) of the interior structures at Kaxramontepa

At Majdatepa four to five architectural phases of the Jaz I period could be uncovered over the entire surface. Radiocarbon dates indicate an occupation roughly between 1400 and 1100 BC. Rooms are arranged around a central corridor running from an open courtyard in the east towards the west, so that complex planned architecture has now been documented for this period. The structures are built from mud bricks, clay blocks or beaten mud and have well finished floors. Several rooms contain partitioned fireplaces with adjacent places for ash. East of the building complex lies a large structure, probably connected to water management (main channel?), which is connected to the buildings by smaller channels. The finds consist mostly of pottery, among which three main groups (in the order of frequency) can be defined: 1a. hand made jars, bowls, lids and miniature vessels, 1b. hand made jars, bowls and lids painted with red or black geometric motifs, in one case bichrome with red and black, 2. Wheel made jars and bowls, 3. rough hand made cauldrons, sometimes with spouts, with large quantities of broken shell or limestone in the paste.

Miniature vessels copy the bowls, but small rectangular boxes are also quite frequent. Besides these, there are small cups on high stalks, which remind of the pedestalled cups of the preceding Bactro-Margiana Archaeological Complex. The painted motifs are mostly geometrical, with the well known Jaz I type triangles or hatched triangles and their variations predominating. A characteristic feature of the Majdatepa painted pottery appears to be groups of short dashes, which may symbolize rain. Besides this, among the decorations there are also some cases, where triangles, zig-zags, circles and other motifs are combined. Since they are not arranged symmetrically, they may represent some kind of coded meaning, which we do not yet understand. The cauldrons, especially when they are provided with spouts, find good analogies in the Burguljuk and Chust groups and are also present at Jaz. Stamped comb decoration, reminding of the steppe type pottery, is rare, while traditions of the Bronze Age Bactro-Margiana Complex are clear. Fragments of unfired objects and vessels indicate local production.

Bronze objects include knives with straight blades, a fragmentary sickle, several shafts of thin straight pins or so-called "cosmetic sticks" and an Ω-shaped pendant.

Large stone mortars and pestles were probably used to grind cereals, while a small pedestal from very well polished black stone and a fine miniature pestle from the same material may have had other uses. Jewellry from seashells indicates long distance contacts. Cereals were recovered in flotation samples from all layers and testify to agriculture, but analysis results are still awaited. Large quantities of bones document animal husbandry, predominantly the herding of sheep or goats, but also of cattle and others.

The pottery from the lower level of Bektepa is almost completely wheel made and shows a continuation of the types from Majdatepa. Hand made cauldrons, sometimes with spouts, also still occur as well as stones for grinding cereals, which were definitely identified in flotation samples. The rectangular fortification visible at the surface, belongs to a later level, for which no internal architectural remains were found, although this had been signalled previously (Сагдуллаев 1989, pp. 29-52, fig. 1 on p. 47). It consists of a surrounding wall of 2 m thickness with round towers and loop-holes, which can be dated to the late Jaz III period (4th Century BC) by very typical pottery.

At Gazimullahtepa a control sounding was excavated in 2006 since the monument is being destroyed by clay-digging and rubbish deposition. The new work basically confirms the results obtained by Rtveladze, who had established four phases of the classical Jaz III (achaemenid) period, but permit some finer observations.

The larger excavations at Kindyktepa confirm its chronological position in the late Jaz III period (4th Century BC). Although the work is not finished, the contours of a large representative building on a foundation of huge clay bricks becomes visible. The outer walls, almost 3 m thick, were built from unfired mud-bricks. The buildingIt consists of a large central room with narrow lateral additions containing several pits. In the central room a ramp runs along the southern wall, which is transformed into steps inside the corner to the western wall. A raised platform was built against the western wall starting from the ramp towards the north. Towards the middle of the room four mud brick pillars stood partly on the platform, partly in front of it. In the centre lay a large fireplace. Few tTraces of destruction and some human bones indicate a violent end, which may be due to internal conflicts of the Achaemenid Empire or perhaps be connected to the Asian campaigns of Alexander the Great. In any case, the entire building was filled with hard beaten clay at the end of its use - practically being "sealed".

A sounding dug in 2006 at Jalangtushtepa has shown that besides the fortress of classical Kushan time visible on the surface, there was a somewhat larger fortification in the older Kushan period. Besides this, the beginning of life at this site can now be followed back into Graeco-Bactrian time (3rd-2nd Centuries BC).

The small early medieval fortress at Kaxramontepa shows a carefully planned layout in the south-western quarter studied so far. Small, longish rooms (up to 2007 eight rooms were fully or partly excavated) were arranged along oth sides of an alley. The entrances are set off, so they do not lie directly opposite each other. The rooms ar built directly to the surrounding wall. Steps lead from the alley onto the fortification wall, which does not show any interruptions otherwise. The sparsely furnished rooms hat arched rooves, the lower part of the arches being well preserved. The originally strict plan was later adapted to new necessities. Each room contained few finds, mostly just two or three vessels. The scarcity of finds and the lack of signs of destruction indicate that the fortress was left peacefully.

The Bandixon microregion contains settlements covering the time period from the second half of the 2nd Millenium BC to the AD Mid-1st Millennium showing a shift of location at various stages. The new excavations, especially at Majdatepa and Bektepa, show a change in material culture and in osteological assemblages, which are probably connected to the movement of the settlement cores. The reasons for these shifts are to be studied in more detail in coming campaigns.

Cooperation


	Bronze knife from Majdatepa (Jaz I Period)

	Large stone mortar from Majdatepa (Jaz I Period)

O´zbekistan Badiiy Akademiyasi. San´atshunoslik Ilmiy-Tadqiqot Instituti/Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, Fine Arts Scientific Research Institute, Tashkent

Madaniyat va san´atni qo´llab-quvvatlash jamg´armasi "Boysun"/The Culture and Art Support Fund "Boysun"/Фонд поддержки культуры и искусства "Байсун", Tashkent.

Further Contact Partners

Dr. Nikolaus Boroffka
German Archaeological Institute, Eurasia Departement
Tel.: ++49 (0)30/83008-317
E-Mail: nboroffka@t-online.de

Leonid Sverchkov, Tashkent
E-Mail: lsverchkov@mail.ru

Bibliography

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А. С. Сагдуллаев, Основные черты и генезис культуры доантичной Бактрии. In: Г. А. Пугаченкова (Hrsg.), Античные и раннесредневековые древности Южного Узбекистана. В свете новых открытий Узбекистанской искусствоведческой экспедиции (Ташкент 1989) 29-52.

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Ш. Шайдуллаев, Cеверная Бактрия в эпоху раннего железного века (Ташкент 2000). (siehe auch die deutsche Version: S. B. Sajdullaev, Untersuchungen zur frühen Eisenzeit in Nordbaktrien. Archäologische Mitteilungen aus Iran und Turan 34, 2002, 243-339).


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