Figures
1 Part of ‘Samarkand’ 1:250.000, U.S. Army Map Service, NJ 42–1 Series № 502, Washington, D.C. 1952 6
2 Stages of corruption of the transmitted text 8
3 Bronze censer from Urgut and its bottom. Photo by Nikolay Tikhomirov †,
4 Only this gravestone has survived, N-310, Ashkhabad National Museum of History. Image courtesy of Mrs Nurgozel Beshimova, Head of the Archaeology Department. Photo by V. Artemyev, architect at the Merv International Project, upon my request 16
5 Leon Barszczewski with his collection in Samarkand. Photo from the private archive of Igor Strojecki, Col. Barszczewski’s great-grandson and biographer, to whom I convey my sincere thanks 18
6 Stone cross accidentally found in Urgut 20
7 Aleksey Kaplunov, director of the Historical Museum in Samarkand, with a local guide near the Red Rock in Urgut. Photo by V.I. Kotovsky 1936, negative courtesy of the Archive, the same Museum, contact print by V. Grachenko 22
8 The Red Rock in Sufiyan, Upper Urgut, with a small grotto on top unnoticed in 1940 23
9 Syriac inscriptions in the grotto 24
10 Carved signs seen by M. Masson in 1929 on approach to the Red Rock, now missing. From
11 Mr Jabbar Rashidov of Urgut, who was the first to see the cave inscriptions in 1955 28
12 View of the Zarafshan Valley from Upper Urgut, facing north 29
13 Headwaters of the Urgut Say in April 30
14 Effects of a sel. Lower Urgut, spring 2004 31
15 A street in Upper Urgut 31
16 Aerial view of Sulayman Tepa and its environs facing south. Google Earth Pro 7.3.2.5776, 39°22′37.64″ N, 67°14′29.86″ E, eye altitude 2.00 km, viewed 09.13.2019 33
17 The western face of Sulayman Tepa before the excavations 34
18 General view over the monastic and the parish churches, facing east 37
19 Ground plan of the compound. Topographic plotting by Gennady Ivanov 38
20 Sectional plan 1-1 40
21 Sectional plan 2-2 40
22 Foundation of the western main wall 42
23 Remains of the dome over the parish church’s chancel 46
24 Idealised plan of the monastery building 47
25 Narthex with a stoup 48
26 Entrance to the monastic church, view from inside 49
27 Threshold, fallen arch removed 50
28 Niches in the southern wall of the monastic church 50
29 Chancel of the monastic church 52
30 Lectern 52
31 Altar 53
32 Refectory 54
33 South-east corner of the refectory 54
34 Kitchen, facing east 55
35 Chancel of the parish church 57
36 Stucco fragment from the parish church’s chancel 58
37 Trimmed pottery fragment with a drilled hole, embedded in the floor of the parish church by the northern wall 58
38 Trimmed brick of a non-standard shape, embedded in the floor of the parish church by the northern wall 59
39 Top of the wine cellar 59
40 Wine cellar, stone sealing 60
41 Wine cellar, floor 60
42 Mount Allahyarhan at close distance, looking from the south 62
43 Cave 1 63
44 Cave 2 63
45 Cave 3 64
46 Irrigation tunnels. The lower Magian Darya, Northern Tajikistan 65
47 Ground plan of Sulayman Tepa with the adjacent area 68
48 Drawing of the church tower on a wall of Cave 1 69
49 View of the monastery from Cave 1 70
50 Fragment of a ceramic stand 71
51 Niche in the wall of the chancel 71
52 Bowl with a lid with handle, twelfth century 72
53 Glazed ceramic tile 74
54 Soapstone lamp 74
55 The iron cross 75
56 Glazed lantern, end of the twelfth–beginning of the thirteenth century 75
57 a) Ninth century; b), c), d): tenth century 76
58 a): End of the tenth–beginning of the eleventh century; b), c), d): eleventh century 77
59 a–f Twelfth century 78
60 a–c Twelfth century 79
61 a) Twelfth century: b), c): end of the twelfth–beginning of the thirteenth century; d) thirteenth century 80
62 a–e End of the eighth–first half of the ninth century 81
63 a), b): Middle of the ninth–second half of the ninth century; c), d): tenth century 82
64 Samples of metalwork 83
65 Engraved bronze plate 84
66 Animal footprints: a) bear (Ursus sp.); b) domestic dog (Canis familiaris); c) fox (Vulpes vulpes or Vulpes cana); d) porcupine (Hystrix indica); e) snow leopard (Uncia uncia); f) wolf (Canis lupus) 85
67 Radiocarbon dating by Dr A.I. Sementsov and Dr S.L. Vartanyan, Radiocarbon Laboratory, St. Petersburg Archaeological Institute 87
68 Pottery from the top of the wine cellar 90
69 Dating materials from tree different contexts 91
70 Cooking pot inserted into the floor. The findspot is marked with a dashed circle at Figure 18 92
71 a–b A-308-1, Samarkand Historical Museum, filed off from the Red Rock in Urgut in 1936 93
72 Timurlan Khaliqov dit Timur Bobo, chronicler, sorcerer and storyteller 99
73 a–b The oldest plane tree in Urgut that once housed a Muslim elementary school (maktab); c: Photo taken by Leon Barszczewski in 1895, courtesy of Igor Strojecki 102
74 Map of the Gulbagh Valley. Local toponymy established with the help of Mr Alimardon Ghaffarov of Sufiyan, Upper Urgut 103
75 a–b Ceramic mould for casting crosses from Arbinjan 107
76 Ruins of Arbinjan with the Narpay (ancient Fay) in the foreground 107
77 Stamped brick from the excavations in Urgut 109
78 Plan of Ghus with the remains of Kuk Tepa 109
79 Red-clay pot found in Ghus 110
80 Pottery collected from Kuk Tepa in Ghus 111
81 Densely populated area along the road from Samarkand to Urgut. Sites surveyed and mapped in 2004–2006 without archaeological intervention. 115
82 Dulta Tepa near Navzandak 116
83 a): Part of the map of Samarkand 1:60.000, Karl Baedeker, Russia with Teheran, Port Arthur, and Peking: handbook for travellers, Leipzig 1914, 517. Cartographer: Wagner & Debes; b): Chakardiza, based on OpenStreetMap (ODbL), © mapz.com 2021 120
84 A working watermill on a canal in Panjikent, Tajikistan 129
85 Cross sewn upon dress, 1072
86 An Evenki shaman, 1910. The bottom part of the garment is decorated with Manichaean-style crosses. Photo by D.K. Solovy
87 Bactrian camels in their typical habitat. Ayaqaghytma Depression, Qyzyl Qum Desert, 90 km north of Bukhara 150
88 Typical landscape near ancient Usturkath 150
89 Stages of corruption of the transmitted text 152
90 Marguzor mountain area in the south-southeast of Panjikent, Tajikistan. Altitude c. 2000 m a.s.l. 156
91 Fragment of the
92 NASA Photo ID: ISS032-E-024907.NEF, courtesy of the Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, Johnson Space Center. Colour corrected 166
93 Map accompanying Ilkin’s account with Ujakent on it 169
94 Map showing sites mentioned in the text. Based on
95 Copper coin of a Turkic ruler found at Qanqa 176
96 Qarshovul Tepa, facing north 184
97 a–b Kettle with a scratched cross from Qarshovul Tepa 184
98 Bronze cross found at Qarshovul Tepa 185
99 Bowl for ritual hand washing from Andijan 186
100 Lid of a large vessel from Rishtan. Photo by Gennady Ivanov 186
101 Bronze cross from Quva. Photo by Gennady Ivanov 187
102 Stages of corruption of the transmitted text 191
103 Qurghan Tepa in the centre of the map J-42-15-V-b-3, 1:10 000,
104 The monastery in Aq Beshim. Ground plan from
105 Wearable cross, Mary Museum, Turkmenistan. The circular pattern is identical to that on the shale cross from Urgut. Photo by Hans Birger Nilsen, Wikimedia Commons (commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nestorian_Cross_(31165549337).jpg). 208
106 Commemorative sign (Kaz. and Mong. tugh—‘flag’) in the form of a four-fingered hand. Early mediaeval site of Vardanze in the north of the Bukhara oasis 208
107 Semantic links of the Sogdian root vēsh in toponymy 217
108 From left to right: Alexei Savchenko, Olga Zhuravl
Tables
1 Place names containing ‘grass’ in Badakhshan 154
2 Common design elements in Urgut and Aq Beshim 205
3 *Anchātkath 211
4 *Ghazkhurt 211
5 *Panāthkath 212
6 Turk (river) 212
7 Ustūrkath 213
8 Vēshkart 214
9 Vēshkart of the Christians 215
10 Vōrkūte 215
11 Derivatives of *kata-in the Pamiri languages and Yaghnobi 215