Zartepa

History and layout

Zartepa lies 14 km north-west of Old Termez. From the 1st century BC to the 4th century AD it was the third-largest town of the Surkhandarya valley and the central settlement of the Sherobod oasis. The Sasanians took it around the 350s, after which it probably came under Kidarite influence, and in the mid-5th century a fire destroyed its palace and stupa. The site covers about 17 ha, ringed on three sides by a ditch and earthen rampart, with forts of 120 × 120 m to the north and 60 × 60 m to the east. The first walls were 7.6 m thick with semicircular towers every 35 m, and a painted, gilded clay statue was found in a columned hall of the ruler’s palace. Excavations began in 1951–1952, with large-scale work from 1972.