Historic discovery: archaeologists uncover key medieval city on the Silk Road underwater
The existence of a submerged medieval city in Kyrgyzstan has been confirmed, offering clues about the history and trade routes of Asia.
An international team of archaeologists has confirmed the existence of a submerged medieval city in Lake Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan. The discovery was led by the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, working alongside Kyrgyz institutions and the Russian Geographical Society. The site corresponds to Toru-Aygyr on the lake’s northwestern shore, in a basin inhabited since pre-Islamic times.
Specialists have inspected submerged structures lying between one and four metres deep, identifying baked-brick buildings, large ceramic pieces, the remains of a mill and ornate fragments that point to the presence of public spaces such as mosques, religious schools or baths.
According to the researchers, the city reached its peak between the tenth and fifteenth centuries under the Karakhanids, a Turkic dynasty that promoted the spread of Islam in the region. Evidence suggests the settlement was abandoned before an earthquake in the fifteenth century, which likely caused part of it to sink into the lake.
One of the most significant finds is an extensive Islamic cemetery from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, covering roughly 60,000 square metres. The burials, oriented towards Mecca, have yielded two skeletons whose study will shed light on the lives of the city’s inhabitants.
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The investigation has also identified adobe structures of various shapes and layers of buried soil, analysed through underwater drilling. Technologies such as drones and advanced navigation systems have made it possible to produce a detailed map of the site, an essential step for its future study and preservation.
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