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Kafir-Kala Fortress (near Samarkand) 4th-8th C. CE

This fortress seems to have been excavated by Uzbek, Italian, and Japanese teams. Note that there are multiple "Kafir-Kala" sites. This one is in present day Uzbekistan.

"Kafir-kala ("Fortress of the infidels") is an ancient fortress 12 kilometers south of the city center of Samarkand in Uzbekistan, protecting the southern border of the Samarkand oasis. It consists in a central citadel built in mud-bricks and measuring 75 × 75 meters at its base has six towers and is surrounded by a moat, still visible today. Living quarters were located outside the citadel.

The citadel was first occupied by the Kidarites in the 4th-5th century CE, whose coinage and bullae have been found. A large amount of seals were discovered in Kafir Kala, including seals associated to the Kidarites, such as the one mentioning “Ularg, king of the Huns, the great Kushanshah, the ǝfšyan of Samarkand.” Many examples of coinage were excavated in Kafir-kala, which also show the transition from Sogdian to Islamic rule in the area of Samarkand with good precision.

A calcinated wooden gate with elaborate decorations was discovered in 2017 in the throne room of the ruins of Kafir-kala, and was probably the gate to the throne room itself. The sculptures on the door represent adorations scenes for the Goddess Nana, who stand centrally on a lion throne.

The adorants are dressed in knee-length tunics, with long boots over trousers, suggesting clothing styles similar to those found in the paintings of Penjikent, and wear shoulder ribbons which have been associated with Hephthalites nobility. The gate is dated to the first half of the 6th century CE (500-550 CE), and the destruction of the palace is attributed to the Islamic conquest of Samarkand in 712 CE."

-taken from Wikipedia





Detail of Nana. Image credit: Eran ud Turan.

The fortress. Image credit: Eran ud Turan.



Musicians. Image credit: Eran ud Turan.


































Tomomi Murakami from the Japanese team.



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The Japanese research file link just opens a pdf so I can't link it. It can be found by Googling "ウズベキスタン，カフィル・カラ遺跡出土木彫板の保存修復" or "CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION OF WOOD CARVING UNEARTHED FROM KAFIR-KALA IN UZBEKISTAN Tomomi MURAKAMI"




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