Systematic survey of the middle Surkhan Darya basin (southern Uzbekistan): Bay Tepa IV, selected findings
Abstract
In October 2021 a new terrain project of the Czech-Uzbekistani Archaeological Expedition was launched focusing on the settlement development and past landscape use of the middle Surkhan Darya basin (southern Uzbekistan). To investigate the hypothetical economic territory of the walled settlement of Khaytabad Tepa, a flexible methodological framework based on the approaches of intensive surface survey common in the Mediterranean and Europe was developed.
This article aims to introduce the project, its goals and methodology and focuses in more detail on one particular area investigated during the pilot season - the area of Bay Tepa IV. The emphasis is laid on the identified artefact distribution and the former morphology of the site, captured on historical satellite imagery.
Special emphasis is laid on a small assemblage of three terracotta figurines discovered during the surface survey. The gathered evidence points to a great potential of both the research area and the employed methods.
As for Bay Tepa IV, a new dating of the site is proposed, putting its foundation to the Early Iron Age.