Anthropology

erronis

(16,903 posts) Wed Nov 6, 2024, 01:22 PM Nov 6

Researchers Discover Enormous Ancient Cities Hidden in Uzbekistan's Mountains

https://scitechdaily.com/researchers-discover-enormous-ancient-cities-hidden-in-uzbekistans-mountains/

Using drone-based lidar, researchers mapped two medieval cities, Tashbulak and Tugunbulak, in Uzbekistan, revealing detailed urban structures significant to the Silk Road’s history.

The first use of drone-based lidar in Central Asia has enabled archaeologists to uncover details of two newly discovered medieval trade cities high in the mountains of Uzbekistan.

The team used this cutting-edge technology to map the archaeological scale and layout of the cities, which are among the largest ever documented in the mountainous parts of the Silk Road, a broad network of ancient trade routes that connected Europe and Eastern Asia.

The research, led by Michael Frachetti, professor of archaeology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, and Farhod Maksudov, director of the National Center of Archaeology in Uzbekistan, was recently published in Nature.

Just because today is the day after the US elections, I thought I would add "Maybe some day a more advanced civilization will discover some artifacts left by a culture of open-minded, critical thinkers that had apparently been obliterated by hostile forces."

3 replies

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Researchers Discover Enormous Ancient Cities Hidden in Uzbekistan's Mountains (Original Post) erronis Nov 6 OP

I can't do wlls o text. Any guesstimeate on the age of this stuff? Warpy Nov 6 #1

From the article these seem to be from the 6th through the 11th century. And your point is well taken erronis Nov 6 #2

Amazing discovery! It would have remained invisible without extreme effort. Judi Lynn Nov 12 #3

Warpy

(113,131 posts)

1. I can't do wlls o text. Any guesstimeate on the age of this stuff?

Reply to erronis (Original post)

Wed Nov 6, 2024, 03:26 PM

Nov 6

Likely these were protection racket cites, as in "nice caravan, be a shame if it got attacked. We'll guard you on our stretch of a road for a small fee per pack animal, you'll never miss it!" Cities in the mountains would have been defensible had the caravan leaders gotten disgusted and provided their own armed escorts.

I have a feeling that the deeper they dig, the more they'll find.

erronis

(16,903 posts)

2. From the article these seem to be from the 6th through the 11th century. And your point is well taken

Reply to Warpy (Reply #1)

Wed Nov 6, 2024, 03:45 PM

Nov 6

about guarding (or controlling) various choke points. Money is to be made in the protection rackets.

Judi Lynn

(162,436 posts)

3. Amazing discovery! It would have remained invisible without extreme effort.

Reply to erronis (Original post)

Tue Nov 12, 2024, 06:03 AM

Nov 12

This is the first example I've seen of LIDAR being used in this part of the world.

Some walls were 3 meters thick? Incredible. Built to last, apparently. Steel-producing.

Similar altitude to Macchu Pichu's. Mind-boggling.

So much to discover. Looking forward so much to any and all future information from Uzbekistan on the two high-altitude population centers.

Found an article, with short videos of preliminary investigation of the area by international workers, from a publication by Washington University:

Targeted excavating leads to lost city

https://source.washu.edu/2017/07/target-excavating-leads-lost-city/

Thank you for introducing this wonderful new information!

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