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Two Ancient Silk Road Cities Discovered in Uzbekistan | Sci.News

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Named Tashbulak and Tugunbulak, these two medieval cities are among the largest ever documented in the mountainous parts of the Silk Road, the vast network of ancient trade routes that connected Europe and Eastern Asia. A drone captured this image of Tugunbulak in 2018. Image credit: M. Frachetti. Tashbulak and Tugunbulak are located in rugged terrain 2,000 to 2,200 m above sea level (roughly comparable to Machu Picchu in Peru), making them unusual examples of thriving mountain urbanism. The smaller city, Tashbulak, covered about 12 hectares, while the larger city of Tugunbulak reached 120 hectares, making it one of the largest regional cities of its time. “These would have been important urban hubs in central Asia, especially as you moved out of lowland oases and into more challenging high-altitude settings,” said Professor Michael Frachetti, an archaeologist at Washington University in St. Louis. “While typically seen as barriers to Silk Road trade and movement, the mountains actuall

Named Tashbulak and Tugunbulak, these two medieval cities are among the largest ever documented in the mountainous parts of the Silk Road, the vast network of ancient trade routes that connected Europe and Eastern Asia. A drone captured this image of Tugunbulak in 2018. Image credit: M. Frachetti. Tashbulak and Tugunbulak are located in rugged terrain 2,000 to 2,200 m above sea level (roughly comparable to Machu Picchu in Peru), making them unusual examples of thriving mountain urbanism. The smaller city, Tashbulak, covered about 12 hectares, while the larger city of Tugunbulak reached 120 hec

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