Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a large medieval settlement on the bottom of Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan, which is rewriting our understanding of Central Asian trade routes.
The settlement was discovered near the village of Toro-Aygir, and was once part of an important urban center along the Silk Road and contains well-preserved structures (burnt brick buildings and workshops) as well as a very large Islamic necropolis (13th-14th century), according to the Russian Geographical Society. Researchers believe that an earthquake destroyed this city, submerging it under the silt of the lake and thus burying its history.
However, through modern underwater archaeological techniques, this lost site provides a unique insight into daily life, religious practices and economic activity that occurred along a historically important trade corridor until it was destroyed by natural forces.
Kyrgyzstan reveals a lost underwater city linked to the Silk Road
According to the Russian Geographical Society, the discovery of an underwater archaeological expedition has led to an understanding of the submerged settlement.
The mission found four different areas of the settlement at a depth ranging from 1 to 4 meters below the surface of the earth. Among the artefacts found were millstones used for grinding grain. Remains of external decorative architectural features of buildings (indicating possible communal civic structures such as a mosque or madrasa); And the structures made of mud brick, which reflect urban development and architectural development.
The wide range of structural types reflects a highly developed economy before the city was abandoned.
Islamic funerary traditions and visions of society were found with this discovery
The discovery of a large cemetery dating back to the 13th and 14th centuries has provided a detailed insight into the community and the religious practices of its members. Excavations were carried out to locate burial sites with the remains of the buried and their bodies placed facing the Qibla (the direction of Mecca). This confirms that during the Golden Horde period, Islamic customs were widely practiced in this region.
Anthropological studies of these skeletons are currently being conducted to gain insight into the people who made up this community, as well as what they ate.
How seismic activity reshaped the Silk Road infrastructure
According to archaeologist Valery Kolchenko and other experts, the city served as a major trading center and an intermediate point from East Asia to the Mediterranean. The city was destroyed by an earthquake in the fifteenth century. The earthquake caused much of the shoreline and lake bed to collapse, quickly submerging the settlement. This event is crucial in understanding the history of earthquakes on the Silk Road as well as how geological and hydrological shifts affected the Silk Road infrastructure in this region.
