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Archaeology
11 km away
Zartepa
Ruined ancient town of about 17 ha near Termez, lived in from the 1st century BC to the 5th century AD, with two square forts.
Kampyrtepa
The ruins of an ancient fortress on a loess terrace above the Amu Darya, 30 km west of Termez, guarding a river crossing from the 4th century BC.
Archaeology4th century BC – 2nd century ADAbout 1 hour to see
About the place
Kampyrtepa sits on a high bank of the Amu Darya, the ancient Oxus, about 1.5 km from Shurob village and 30 km west of Termez. The fortress was founded at one of the main river crossings no later than the late 4th century BC, in the time of Alexander the Great's campaigns, and some scholars identify it with Alexandria on the Oxus mentioned by Ptolemy.
It flourished under the great Kushan kings in the 1st–2nd centuries AD, and the walls you see today are mostly their fortifications. The archaeologist Edvard Rtveladze found the site in 1972, and digs have gone on since 1977, making it one of the best-studied ancient sites in Central Asia.
Why go
- Kushan walls above the Amu Darya
- A river crossing used since Alexander's time
- Views across the river towards Afghanistan
Sources (4)
Nearby
- © OpenStreetMapArchaeology
17 km away
Sapallitepa
Bronze Age fortified settlement in the Sherabad steppe, dating to the 2nd millennium BC, with a square compound of 82 by 82 metres and 138 graves.
Mausoleums17 km away
Zulkifl Mausoleum
An 11th–12th-century multi-domed shrine on the Aral-Paygambar island in the Amu Darya near Termez, linked by legend to the prophet Dhul-Kifl.
Archaeology20 km away
Fayaz Tepe
The excavated walls of a Kushan-era Buddhist monastery outside Termez, with a stupa that now stands under a protective dome.
