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Excavations began in Area
10 in 2000 (reconstruction). The first
sondages revealed two stone column bases of a type which first appears at
Kala'i-gir 1, apparently in the 5th century B.C. in a small hypostyle hall
just over ten metres broad. This type of column base was in use up to the
'Kushan' period when it was used at the city of Toprak-kala. The original positions of both
bases are known. The outer formed part of a colonnaded facade between towers
while the internal was associated either with an hypostyle hall or a
colonnaded area open to the sky. Inside the structure, excavations have
uncovered a mud brick pavement, fragments of polychrome painted plaster and
moulded stucco. Evidence of ritual activities is demonstrated by the
discovery of a rectangular fire altar with a large ceramic vessel set next to
it, On the exterior, further clearance has revealed a rounded tower in the
south-west corner and two central towers on the western flank of the building
protecting a doorway. The corner tower has a characteristic form in which the
flanks are not parallel but converge towards the curtain walls (ogee). The
overall plan of the building is highly unusual for Chorasmia and finds its
best parallels in earlier Bronze Age buildings in southern Central
Asia. The foundation of the building can now be dated to
around the 3rd century BC. It has two stages of construction, but
both buildings were basically similar in plan. The building was eventually
abandoned and robbed out in antiquity. In 2004 a substantial number of
fragments of painted plaster were recovered from the interior. In 2005 excavations
in the corridor surrounding the central building uncovered a frieze showing a
procession of horses and/or camels led by human figures. Continued work on
the frieze in 2006 resulted in the discovery of a spectacular collection of
almost life-size human portraits. (see NEW DISCOVERIES)
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Interior of the
building showing column bases
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