Simone Mantellini: Long-term Occupation and Territory Exploitation in the Samarkand Oasis, Uzbekistan

Ústav pro klasickou archeologii FF UK zve na přednášku Simone Mantellini z University of Bologna v rámci cyklu Aktuální otázky archeologie.

Located at the heartland of Eurasia, Samarkand oasis has always been at the center of the Silk Roads network. This lecture presents the main results and activities of the Uzbek-Italian Archaeological Project „Samarkand and Its Territory“ (UIAP). Established in 2001, the main goal of the UIAP is the study of the Samarkand oasis in a diachronic perspective, and linking together the historical development of the city with its hinterland. A specific attention has been addressed to the reconstruction of the irrigation network and the settled agriculture in the floodplain, the semi-mobile pastoralism in the steppe, and the funerary practices in the Karatyube foothills. The last results from the excavations at Kafir Kala and the piedmont kurgan necropolis will presented, together with the ongoing project of the archaeological park open to tourism at Kafir Kala.