Fortress walls of the Otrar shahristan (13th–18th centuries): Evidence from the 2020 excavations
Akylbek S. Buranbayev R.
2025Margulan Institute of Archaeology
Kazakhstan Archeology
2025#29Issue 3135 - 153 pp.
The article presents the main results of archaeological excavations of the fortification walls carried out at the Otrar settlement in 2020. The site, one of the largest medieval cities in Central Asia, possessed a tripartite layout typical of its time. The history of research on the fortifications of the settlement spans a long period from the late 19th century to the present, as a result of which the principal stages of wall construction have been established. Drawing on written sources and the results of earlier archaeological investigations, the authors examine the functioning of the fortification walls between the 13th and 18th centuries. In 2020, three trenches (30 m long and 2 m wide) were excavated along the southwestern rampart, yielding substantial material on the life of the city. It was determined that the fortification wall of the Ak Orda period was erected at the turn of the 13th–14th centuries. It has survived to a height of up to 5 m and was reinforced on the exterior with a mudbrick berm – “rubashka” (“shirt”). In the 16th century, residential buildings began to be constructed atop the wall, initially facing outward with blank facades. By the 17th–18th centuries, the city had fallen into complete decline, as confirmed by both archaeological evidence and written sources.
archaeology , berm , fortress walls , Middle Ages , Otrar settlement , tower , written sources
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Archeo-service LLP, Shaulder, Kazakhstan
Margulan Institute of Archaeology, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Archeo-service LLP
Margulan Institute of Archaeology
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